Kyrie Irving Says Nets 'Got Better' After Kevin Durant's Trade Request

Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving said he believes the team "got better" following Kevin Durant's trade request during the offseason, which was ultimately rescinded in August.

Irving told Stadium's Shams Charania in an interview posted Wednesday that the situation helped the Nets identify the "principles that are needed for success," and it's led to a more tight-knit group, highlighted by a gathering put together by Kyrie last weekend:

Shams Charania @ShamsCharania

Part 2 of Kyrie Irving on @Stadium: "I’m going for every piece of hardware that I could possibly get out of the NBA." On the Nets post-KD trade request, his team bonding event, admitting "I don't think it was my time to ask for a trade" with Cavs, Uncle Drew, meaning of A11Even. pic.twitter.com/TI4IKfOBEs

Brooklyn's roster appeared on the verge of collapse after KD's request in late June. Along with his desire to find a new team, Irving was also featured prominently in the rumor mill, frequently linked to a possible reunion with LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers.

In the end, it was a pretty quiet summer from the Nets front office, which replaced a few depth losses with the additions of T.J. Warren, Royce O'Neale and Markieff Morris.

The biggest change is the return of Ben Simmons, who's set to make his Brooklyn debut in Wednesday night's season-opening clash with the New Orleans Pelicans. He didn't play last season after being acquired in a February trade with the Philadelphia 76ers.

From a purely talent perspective, the Nets have both the high-end star power in Durant, Irving and Simmons along with enough reliable depth contributors to emerge as a championship contender.

The question is whether things could take a turn for the worse if the team, which was swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics last season, gets off to a sluggish start following a couple of drama-filled seasons and the tumultuous offseason.

For his part, Durant said the trade request allowed him to voice his concerns to the front office and he's hopeful it allowed the franchise to end up in a better place.

"I was upset," KD told reporters in September. "And as a family, they understood that I was upset; some of the stuff they agreed with. So we talked about it, and it was over a couple of months, a couple of weeks, toward the end of that where we talked about it. We came out and we voiced all our concerns about how we all can be better. And it just worked out from there, and I'm glad I'm here now."

So the Nets' superstar tandem are both sounding an optimistic tune heading into the new campaign, but the on-court performance will be the true indicator about whether the team has moved on from the offseason grievances.

Brooklyn opens with a tricky first five games against the Pelicans, Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks.

A handful of early-season contests isn't going to make or break the season, but it could provide an early glimpse at where the Nets stand relative to some fellow contenders.