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In December, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were in the process of leading the Brooklyn Nets on an incredible 18-2 stretch that. Months later, Durant is expected to make his debut with the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, while Irving already has multiple appearances with the Dallas Mavericks under his belt. 

The Nets' stunning collapse and the subsequent trade drama has been well covered from an outside perspective. Here, finally, we get to hear from one of the principal parties involved. Durant addressed his feelings about Irving's initial trade request and how it broke apart the team on a new episde of his podcast, "The ETCs with Kevin Durant."

"I can separate -- I'm disappointed we didn't finish the season, but I also know we're all our own separate entities. We all move and do the things we want to do for our careers. I can't fault somebody for doing that, even though it may have been at our expense as a team, but that's who he is and that's what he wanted to do. I can't have a problem with that. I don't want to act like I wasn't upset that we didn't finish the season because I love playing with Kai, I wanted to see where we could go with that, because we were both playing at a high level.

"That part of it, because I love to play. That's all I'm focused on in this league is hooping. Not that other s---, what Kai's doing behind the scenes with his contract negotiations. I don't even want to think about none of that stuff. Whatever's he's doing, that's him. I trust that he's gonna make the right moves for him and his family to move forward. I trust him on that. We haven't had a conversation, but eventually we will."

None of this is all that surprising. Durant has been on the record numerous times before stating that Irving is his own person, and while they're friends, he doesn't feel like it's his place to tell Irving what to do. For example, just last summer, when Irving was mulling his future in Brooklyn, Durant said he had "no involvement at all" in Irving's decision making process. 

This is one of those rare situations where people on the outside seem more upset and frustated by the situation than those directly involved. Durant, for his part, seems completely at peace with what happened in Brooklyn. Of course, winding up on an instant title contender in Phoenix, always helps to soften the blow.