Things finally look back to normal at the Brooklyn Nets after a dramatic end to the season, which was followed by a summer of speculation surrounding the immediate future of stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Irving admitted that it was "awkward" when he heard that Durant had requested to be traded from the Nets, but both stars will remain on the roster for this season. There were also reports suggesting that Durant had asked for coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks to be fired, but the Nets HC dismissed claims and admitted he 'never believed they were true'.
With the season starting on October 18, Nash has held 'clear the air talks' with Durant in order to move forward. And Durant has justified his trade stance in the off-season in a blunt response to reporters.
Durant gave his reasoning, as he said: "You seen what happened with our season, guys in and out the line-up, injuries. Just a lot of uncertainties which built a lot of doubt up in my mind about the next four years of my career.
"I mean, I'm getting older and I want to be in a place that's stable. I had some doubts about that and I voiced them to Joe Tsai [owner]. We move forward from there.
"We have people in that locker room that care. We have people in this organisation that want to see it as one of the prominent ones in sport so I'm banking on that. We have competitive people in this building. I got faith moving forward that people here want the same things, especially after a summer of us basically having a stand-off."
And one of those that does want the same thing is HC Nash, who wants to ensure people know that his relationship with Durant is good. "We're fine," Nash said after the Nets' first official practice of the season on Tuesday. "We're good. Ever since we talked, it's been like nothing's changed. I have a long history with Kevin. I love the guy. Families have issues. We had a moment and it's behind us. That's what happens. It's a common situation in the league.
"We all were hurting, seething, to go through what we went through last year, not being able to overcome all that adversity. Sometimes you lose perspective because you expect to win, but the reality is we were able to talk and discuss what we can improve on from last year. And also keep perspective. We went through a ton of stuff."
"I think there's something in this that we can all grow from as well. Sometimes when things like that happen, the outside world makes a big deal of it, from the inside we take it as an opportunity for growth."
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And despite fears that the Nets could see their season impacted by the summer saga, Nash actually thinks they're in a great place. "I think we're in a really good position to start the season," Nash said. "And regardless of the way everyone wants to talk about drama all the time, we've been through this. It does not impact me the way maybe it impacts people on the street or in the media, so it was never really as a big a deal to me."
The Nets were without Durant for a large part of last season as he suffered with knee trouble, an Irving was also in and out of the side due to his decision not to get the Covid-19 vaccine. James Harden was also there, but has since traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, with Ben Simmons taking his place.
Simmons has already said that Irving and Durant look "incredible" in training, and that he "can't wait" to get out there on the court with them. "It's going to be sick. I can't wait," Simmons said on "The Old Man and the Three" podcast. "I'm so excited. Got a new number, new jersey.
"I'm just looking forward to it. I think we have a special team. I think if we get it all together, we're going to be the champions. That's the end goal."
