Kyrie and KD

Remember Fred Sanford, back in the '80s... "Sanford and Son"? Fred's son, Lamont, had a friend named "Rollo," who was notorious for getting Lamont involved in half-baked schemes. Fred, directing most of his ire at Lamont one day, dubbed the two, "Rollo and Follow." Sounds like Kyrie and KD. 

In a nutshell: Kevin Durant followed Kyrie Irving to the Brooklyn Nets where, based upon exquisite talent, alone, the two of them hoped to build a basketball dynasty. It started out well, then reality, i.e., fate struck in the guise of COVID, injuries, and a dose of selfishness, (courtesy of Kyrie), the likes of which have rarely been seen in the annals of team sports. Within two years, the pre-supposed dynasty began to crumble. 

Durant is no leader. He is emotional and impulsive; he follows. He follows with his heart. That makes him special - good, in an honest kind of way. But, in the dog-eat-dog world of the NBA, it also makes him vulnerable. At this current pace, he will get the worst of this Brooklyn debacle, despite appearing to be the most genuine party in the bunch, having come to the show with the best intentions. 

Now, he says to the Nets, "Trade me." It is an emotional response designed to "fix" those who misled him. Unfortunately, he is headed for the worst "fix" of all. 

"Trade me?" Durant has no idea where he might be traded and seems oblivious to the fact that because he is such a great player, wherever he goes, that team will be gutted (to pay for him) by the time he gets there. (If Nets management cares anything about Durant, they will treat him like the child who wants to be a fry cook, but his parents insist upon piano lessons, instead.) 

This Nets management, which is no paragon of leadership, itself, should not panic. Both Kyrie and KD are under contract. Keep them there. Tell Durant, "Be ready to play come October," (the start of the NBA season). Durant, regardless of his trade demand, will be ready because, if nothing else, comes game time, Kevin Durant is always ready. 

Kyrie will also be ready, not because he has any loyalty to the game, or to anyone in the game. Kyrie will play "lights out" next season because he will be a free agent after the season. He knows that if he jacks off this upcoming campaign like he did the last time, his free agency stocking will be filled with coal instead of a $200 million max contract, (which is what he stands to gain.) 

With a perennially-motivated KD, a "lights-out" Kyrie, and a rejuvenated Ben Simmons... who knows? This crazy-ass Nets team could win it all, after all. Take that, Fred Sanford.