Kevin Durant Gets Brutally Honest on What To Blame for Embarrassing Sweep vs. Celtics, Possible Crack in Relationship With Kyrie Irving

The Boston Celtics swept the Brooklyn Nets on Game 4 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 116-112 win on Monday.

The Nets were mostly the favored team to win the NBA Championship this season, having a roster composed of the league's elite players. But, just like what happened last year, they once again ended up failing expectations after getting beaten by a younger but more determined Celtics.

The front office and management are also responsible, having initially claimed that they would not utilize Kyrie Irving as a part-time player, only to backtrack and enable him to play in road games until late in the season, when New York City lifted its vaccine mandate for artists and professional athletes, per USA Today.

Irving missed a huge chunk of the season due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19, which somewhat affected the team's chemistry.

The Sweep's Impact On Durant And Irving's Friendship

Though frustrated, Kevin Durant is still confident with his relationship with Irving and his future with the Nets.

Irving told the media he has no plans on leaving Brooklyn, as he can opt out of his contract and go into free agency this summer.

In an interview with Yahoo Sports, Durant said he still wants Irving to be his teammate.

"I would love for him to play more. Life is way more important to me than that. I can't be pissed off. I can't end the friendship based on something like that," he said.

The superstar forward added that they don't get along on the court, they can "easily talk it out as friends."

Though, Durant admitted that their friendship went through rough moments during the season as he had to carry a tough load being one of the primary players.

He knew he couldn't compel Irving to get inoculated, so he said his rage was confined to the moments following a string of nights in which he was triple-teamed and didn't have the superstar guard on the court to assist him.

There was only so much Durant could do about things like James Harden arriving at training camp out of condition and behaving badly behind the scenes, resulting in his trade to Philadelphia on deadline day for Ben Simmons, who had gone a whole year without competing.

This was expected to be the year that a Durant-led team blasted its way to the top, but things went the opposite direction. And while he was an elite player before hurting his knee in January, the sweep damaged his reputation as a leader, considering that he called himself the best basketball player in the world.

The Nets Have More Issues To Deal With

But aside from Durant, Irving, and Simmons's issues, the Nets have other serious issues to resolve as they move on to the next season.

NBA legend and commentator Charles Barkley thinks that the Nets have limited flexibility in the offseason and in terms of cap space in trying to surround their big three with competitive players, as per ClutchPoints report.

"Who's going to want to play on that team?" Sir Charles asked on NBA on TNT after the Nets got swept by the Celtics.

"I think the hardest thing for this team going forward is, 'Where are we going to get players?' That, to me, is gonna be the most important part going forward."

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NBA Playoffs, NBA, Kevin durant, Kyrie irving, Charles barkley