At his introductory press conference in Phoenix, Kevin Durant said that, before Kyrie Irving asked the Brooklyn Nets for a trade, he anticipated trying to finish what they had started.
"Yeah, I was upset that we couldn't finish," Durant said. "I thought we would've had some good momentum. We were finally building the culture that we always wanted. I felt like every game we were building our chemistry. But I didn't know what was going on with Kyrie and his situation with the organization, so I didn't really focus on that. I only focused on what we were doing on the court."
The Nets had won 18 of 20 games when Durant was sidelined with a sprained MCL on Jan. 9. They were 31-20 and fourth in the East on Feb. 3, when Irving made his trade demand, after contract-extension talks had not gone the way he'd hoped. Brooklyn traded Irving to the Dallas Mavericks three days later. The day after the Irving deal, according to ESPN, Durant told general manager Sean Marks that he wanted to be traded specifically to the Phoenix Suns.
"It was a blow to our team," Durant said. "It just took away our identity. He was a huge, huge part to what we do. His game -- he's a Hall of Fame player, a great, great player that can do everything on the floor, and we relied on that. So without him, we didn't have a clear identity. So that was tough for me to stomach."
Durant said that "it all happened so fast," adding that he is "glad it worked out this way." On the court at Footprint Center, with Suns fans in the stands, he stressed that he liked what was happening in Brooklyn this season.
"I loved playing with those guys throughout the year," Durant said. "I felt like we had dudes that were stepping up and doing stuff that they didn't do on their previous teams. So I enjoyed everything about it. And it was tough to not finish the season, but I just tried to move forward as quickly as I can and tried to figure something out for myself, but also still focused on trying to rehab and get back."
Durant initially asked for a trade last summer, then rescinded the request. When a reporter asked him to sum up his time with the Nets, fans in the arena booed.
"It was a lot of ups and downs," Durant said ."But I loved the grind. And everybody in Brooklyn loved the grind, too. So I built a family over there. They're always going to be a part of my journey. So we didn't accomplish what we wanted to accomplish, as far as winning a championship ... but I enjoy the grind. And everybody there, we tried our hardest every day regardless of what was going on in the media, what was going on with our teammates.
"Everybody who was in that gym, we grinded," Durant continued. "So I love those guys. I get emotional talking about 'em because that was a special four years of my career, coming off a [torn] Achilles, and they helped me through a lot. It was terrible how some stuff went down, but at the end of the day I love the grind. And we all loved the grind there in Brooklyn and I wish them going forward. They got a bright future."
Durant said the superteam in Brooklyn did not work out because "we didn't get on the court enough." When he, Irving and James Harden were on the court together, "it was amazing basketball -- for 17 games, though."
In order to win a title, "you just need more time on the floor," he said. "It's another story about why we didn't get on the floor together, but we just didn't get enough time on the floor. And those are Hall of Fame players that I learned a lot from every day. And I wish them the best as well. It just didn't work out."
Durant, who will not play in Sunday's All-Star Game, said he doesn't know exactly when he will be on the court in his new uniform.
"Hopefully soon," he said. "Hopefully you can feel my enthusiasm of getting ready to get out there and play. But I'm going to follow the training staff and go on the schedule they got me on. So hopefully soon after the break."
If Durant returns immediately after the break, he will make his Suns debut against one of his former teams. They host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 24.
Durant repeatedly praised Phoenix's front office, coaching staff and players. "They've built themselves up and built the structure and the infrastructure up for themselves already and I'm looking forward to adding to it," he said. He added that the Suns have "all the pieces to be successful," and now they have to "put it together." He said new teammate Devin Booker "is one of those players that I really admire, and people are going to be doing classes on him once he's done playing -- you can learn so much from watching his game."
Asked if this season would be a failure if the Suns do not win a championship, Durant acknowledged that expectations are high, but did not answer in the affirmative.
"It's pressure because I'm one of the best players to ever play the game," he said. "So every time I step on the floor, people are going to expect me to do great things and the team I'm on to do great things. But I enjoy getting better as a player every day. I enjoy just waking up and getting to do this. So I don't ever say anything's a failure if I'm healthy enough to pay the game of basketball. But I know what's on our backs and we understand that. And we want to do the most. We want to get the most out of this opportunity."
