For seven weeks last summer, from June 30 through August 23, the average Nets fan was miserable. Kevin Durant had asked for a trade, then the firing of the head coach and GM. Following two meetings with Joe Tsai in London and Los Angeles, things with KD were patched up, with all sides agreeing to “move forward with our partnership.’
Then, not long after the season started, there were two more crises. Kyrie Irving, who had decided against an extension, became embroiled in an controversy surrounding his publicizing an antisemitic video. Following a slow, even shocking, start, Steve Nash was canned and the Nets flirted with Ime Udoka before ultimately deciding on the self-described “write-in candidate” and season savior, Jacque Vaughn.