During an extensive interview on ESPN's First Take, Kevin Durant gave a detailed explanation of why he decided to leave the Golden State Warriors.

"I just felt like I needed a switch," said Durant. "I felt like a lot of stuff in Golden State had reared its head. It was just going to be the end no matter what, especially for that group. Shaun Livingston was retiring. Andre Iguodala was getting older. Our contracts were going to stifle the team and put us in a hole to get other players. It was just time to kind of separate."

Durant also spoke about how his confrontation with Draymond Green made his pending free agency a larger story than he thought it needed to be throughout the season.

Durant refuted the notion that he joined the Brooklyn Nets to try to win in a situation that is more difficult than the one he joined with the Warriors in 2016.

Kevin Durant admitted the way Draymond Green confronted him early in the 18-19 season during and after a game at the Los Angeles Clippers impacted his free agency decision.

Stephen A. Smith asked him about that situation during an appearance on ESPN's First Take

"I wish that wouldn't have happened," replied Durant. "I feel like that was a situation that could have definitely been avoided. It really came out of nowhere. For us, everybody was just looking for something to tear us down with and I think they used that. It just brought in the firestorm with free agency. Every day was about my free agency. Everyday was about my disposition as a player. What I looked like on the bench. What I looked like during the game. It opened up a lot of nonsense I think could have been avoided.

"Me and Draymond talked about it."

Smith then asked Durant about Green admitting he refused to apologize until he saw his former teammate hurt.

"Draymond knew he was out of line. As men, we talked about it. Everybody around tried to get us to mend it fast because the season (was going on). He had his process on how he wanted to handle things and I respected that and I have my process and we eventually handled it."

Smith then asked for a definitive answer from Durant on whether that confrontation influenced his decision to sign with the Brooklyn Nets.

"A little bit, yeah, for sure," said Durant. "Your teammate talk to you that way, you think about it a bit."

A report from Jackie MacMullan about the Brooklyn Nets already observing the "mood swings" of Kyrie Irving surfaced this week, which led to questions of whether he's motivated to change the perception people have in him.

“Human beings have mood swings," said Irving. "It’s okay to have mood swings. I don’t have to perfect... My teammates know who I am. I am proud of who I am.”

Kennt Atkinson had already come to the defense of Irving.

"That is completely false. In strictly speaking in my observation and my experience with him so far, it's absolutely not true ... from my perspective, I give Kyrie an A-plus in his consistency and his spirit," said Atkinson.

Kenny Atkinson shot down an ESPN story discussing Kyrie Irving's supposed mood swings, including an incident that was said to have taken place during the Brooklyn Nets' travels to China.

"That is completely false. In strictly speaking in my observation and my experience with him so far, it's absolutely not true ... from my perspective, I give Kyrie an A-plus in his consistency and his spirit," said Atkinson.

Atkinson went further, adding that Irving has helped him become a better coach.

"It's easier coaching a great player. It just is. Everybody says how hard it is, and maybe I'm naive. But I think it's great and we've had great one on one conversations. We have great film sessions with the team. He's given me great feedback. He's really helped me on two or three things that have helped the team get better," added Atkinson.

Kevin Durant wants to win a title with the Brooklyn Nets, but he's realistic that the situation will be more challenging than it was when he joined the Golden State Warriors in 2016.

"Obviously leaving Golden State, I'm not expecting anything better than that," said Durant. "I see this situation as, 'All right, I'm coming to a young organization that has championship aspirations but doesn't quite know what that feels like.'"

Durant won a pair of Finals MVPs while with the Warriors, but he left the Warriors in search of a new challenge.

"I felt they kind of ground it out from the bottom, and I liked that," Durant said of the Nets.

During his exit interview following the 18-19 season, Kyrie Irving informed Danny Ainge he intended to leave the Boston Celtics.

Irving had already decided he would sign with the Brooklyn Nets and not the New York Knicks.

Irving grew up a fan of the Nets and was encouraged by what they were building.

Boston eventually signed Kemba Walker as the replacement for Irving.

Kyrie Irving became friends with Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan during the 2016 Olympics. Irving had just won a title with the Cleveland Cavaliers while Durant was coming off his decision to join the Golden State Warriors.

The three had endless conversations about basketball, including how LeBron James had orchestrated his own "friend group" with the Miami Heat with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

On one of the final nights they had together during their Olympic run, Irving, Durant and Jordan toasted.

"Hey, this would be cool to do for real" Jordan recalls Irving saying.

"I asked him, 'What you mean by that?'" Jordan says, "and Ky said, 'Let's all get on the same team and play together.'"

Durant went on to win titles in 2017 and 2018. Irving requested a trade in 2017 from the Cavaliers and ended up on the Boston Celtics. Jordan left the Los Angeles Clippers for the Dallas Mavericks and eventually the New York Knicks in 18-19.

"The brotherhood was real," Irving says, "but circumstances kept us apart."

"There were times when you had to wonder, 'Is this ever going to really happen?"' Jordan says.

All three players became free agents in 2019.

"We all agreed," Jordan says, "'We gotta do this.'"

The Golden State Warriors don't see the decision Kevin Durant made to leave the franchise to sign with the Brooklyn Nets as a betrayal. The Warriors have gone out of their way to commemorate his three seasons with the Warriors and Joe Lacob has already announced the team will retire his No. 35.

"I think the organization did a great job of saying, 'Yes, you were a part of this,'" Bob Myers said. "He's in all these pictures. The overall feeling is positive from his side, positive from our side. I don't sense any bitterness. It's like, 'You're doing this, we're doing our thing.'"

After Durant decided to sign with the Nets, he and Myers exchanged pleasantries. 

There has been speculation in the media over how the Warriors handled Durant's calf injury that eventually became an Achilles tear when he returned for Game 5 of The Finals. There also have been questions over how Durant wasn't as close to some of his teammates the way he had hoped.

Caris LeVert signed a three-year, $52.5 million contract extension with the Brooklyn Nets in late August, which now appears to be a bargain following the extensions signed by other players of the 2016 NBA Draft class this October.

"That deal, the timing of it was weird, it was very early," said Zach Lowe on his podcast.

"His agent (Joe Branch) did subsequently did leave the business to go work for the Minnesota Timberwolves," said Brian Windhorst. "That could be a factor in the timing."

"That has certainly been speculated about around the league," replied Lowe.

"That deal in the light of what happened on Monday with Buddy Hield, four years $86 million or $94 million, whatever it is. Jaylen Brown four years, $105 million to $110 million, whatever. 

"The LeVert deal looks like a heist for Brooklyn. I understand the injury questions. He locks in security. I get why he would do it. It looks like a heist. Those players are not X dollars better than him. No way."

Kyrie Irving said that his 50-point debut with the Brooklyn Nets was just a number following the team's 127-126 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Irving, who missed a potential game-winning shot in overtime, also added 8 rebounds and 7 assists.

"The job wasn't done. So that 50 just goes into the (books) as just a few numbers that -- it holds value, but not really when you don't get a win," said Irving after the game.

The 50 points set a league record for the most debut points with a new team. 

Kenny Atkinson added that the Nets' team chemistry will grow with more playing time.

"I think we're getting to know each other and he's getting to know his teammates. He's getting to know the system ... I always say with point guards, 'Read the defense. If the game calls for you to get 50 points, get 50. There are other nights where it's going to be 15 assists.' So we'll look at it and, again, I think a big part of this is just getting more reps together, knowing each other better."