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Kyrie Irving addresses Kevin Durant's comments, Ime Udoka's Nets departure

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant's tenure with the Brooklyn Nets ended unceremoniously as the superstar duo was unable to lead the franchise to their first NBA title. The latter recently addressed what went wrong during a recent appearance on the "Mind the Game" podcast with LeBron James and Steve Nash -- who coached the Nets.

Durant cited coaches going to other teams as one of the issues that plagued the team. Irving recently lived up to promise to address his former running mate's comments on stream. He revealed that Ime Udoka's decision to join the Boston Celtics wound up hurting the franchise in the postseason as he knew their entire gameplan.

"Ime Udoka literally went to the Boston Celtics after coaching with us," Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving stated Tuesday. "That was crazy, bro. That was crazy. We had Ime Udoka literally go to Boston the next year. We had coaches leaving to other teams. And it wasn't anybody's fault, it's just opportunity. But we're in the same division. Can you imagine going against the coach that literally saw all of strengths and weaknesses and now we're playing against them?"


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"So, Boston was ready for us," Irving continued. "Ime had them ready, had the Celtics ready. When we played them in the 2022 playoffs, (expletive) got wild. (Expletive) got wild, y'all. For sure, (expletive) got wild. So, we had a lot going on. KD is right."

The Nets fielded one of the most star-studded roster in NBA history during the 2020-21 season. Many believed that the trio of Irving, Durant and James Harden would be able to win a championship, however, injuries derailed their lone postseason run together. They appeared in just 16 games together as they were 8-2 in ten regular season matchups and 5-1 in six postseason outings.

Things blew up the following season, culminating with Harden requesting -- and being granted -- a trade and Udoka's Celtics sweeping the Nets in the first round of the 2021-22 postseason. The series marked Irving and Durant's final postseason appearance together as both were traded the following season.

More NBA: Kyrie Irving fires back at former Nets teammate Kevin Durant's claim about commitment

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