Jalen Rose says Kevin Durant will 'regret' leaving Warriors
The Kyrie Irving era in Brooklyn officially ended on Sunday. With the eight-time All-Star headed to Dallas , it's tough to speculate what Nets forward Kevin Durant thinks of the move or what the future has in store for him.
Regardless of how his situation unfolds, ESPN analyst Jalen Rose believes Durant will regret his decision to leave the Golden State Warriors for the Nets one day.
"He (Durant) probably won't say this today, but as he looks back at his career and when you look back at your playing days, you always think about 'What Ifs.' He gonna regret leaving the Warriors. That was a tailor-made situation," Rose said on Saturday's "NBA Countdown."
In three-and-a-half years in Brooklyn, Irving and Durant played 87 games, including the playoffs together, just over one regular season's worth of games, which would undoubtedly irritate anyone. However, chances are Durant has more of a regret about joining the Warriors rather than leaving them, given the scrutiny he endured with the team.
Media members, NBA fans, and even fellow players bashed the Warriors throughout Durant's tenure with the team about how Golden State was "too unfair" and "ruined the sport." Many suggested that Durant had to leave the Warriors and lead a team to a championship if he wished to be considered among the greatest players ever.
Durant knew how the public portrayed his legacy. He also knew he wasn't a true Warrior since he wasn't with the team for the first two NBA Finals trips of their dynasty run. Despite feeling included among his teammates, Durant did have a conflict with forward Draymond Green.
So, Durant considered these factors and left Golden State to attempt to win a championship in Brooklyn. While he hasn't achieved that goal, he has come very close.
There's a real chance that Brooklyn would've won the 2021 NBA Finals had Durant's foot not been on the line in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Durant hit a turnaround jumper with one second remaining to force overtime against Milwaukee, and had he been a centimeter closer, the Nets would have advanced to the next round.
It didn't help Brooklyn either that a hamstring injury plagued the then-Net James Harden throughout the series.
Will Durant end up regretting leaving the Warriors? Although they were likely to win many more championships, Durant's true regret might've been choosing Irving as his running mate instead of leaving the Warriors altogether.
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