Before he took the court for his first game with the Mavericks Wednesday night, Kyrie Irving talked to reporters about what went wrong in Brooklyn, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Irving said there were times he felt “very disrespected” by the Nets during his tumultuous three and a half years with the organization. He admitted he was at an impasse with the team in extension negotiations and claimed he wasn’t “getting transparency and honesty from people in the front office.”
“I worked extremely hard at what I do,” Irving said. “No one ever talks about my work ethic though. Everyone talks about what I’m doing off the floor. So I just wanted to change that narrative, write my own story.”
Irving’s off-court behavior dominated the headlines during his time in Brooklyn, highlighted by his inability to play for much of last season due to his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine and his suspension in November for his online promotion of an antisemitic film. Irving added that he wishes he had done more research on the Nets’ front office before he and Kevin Durant opted to sign with the team in 2019.
“I left them in fourth place — I did what I was supposed to do,” he said. “I took care of my teammates, was incredibly, incredibly selfless. And in my approach to leading, I just want to do all the right things for myself, not to appease anybody.”
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- It didn’t take long for Irving to impress his new Mavericks coaches and teammates, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. With Luka Doncic missing his third straight game due to a right heel contusion, Irving delivered 24 points and five assists in a road win against the Clippers. “That’s how talented he is,” head coach Jason Kidd said. “He makes things look easy. He works on his craft. He’s a pro, up for any challenge.”
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban expressed confidence that Irving and Doncic can work together despite both being ball-dominant guards and said Doncic was fully on board with making the trade, per Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News. “Go for it. We need talent,” Cuban responded when asked about Doncic’s stance on the deal. “He’s a Hall of Fame player, and I’d love to play with talent. Why would you not want to play with him?”
- Dillon Brooks‘ teammates came to his defense after he was booed by the home crowd Tuesday in the midst of a bad shooting night, according to Mark Giannotto of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Brooks’ combination of erratic offense and tenacious defense makes him a polarizing player among Grizzlies fans, creating a difficult decision for general manager Zach Kleiman on whether to try to trade him before today’s deadline.
- The Spurs made one significant trade late Wednesday night, sending Jakob Poeltl to the Raptors, and longtime coach Gregg Popovich said he has confidence in general manager Brian Wright’s ability to reshape the team, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News.
Trade brooks
Free Konchar!!
Kyrie was the best player on the court last night, even while sharing the court with future HOFers. It’s crazy how many times we’ve seen that happen over the course of his career… link to m.youtube.com
cool
“Incredibly, incredibly selfless.”
I actually laughed out loud when he said that. What an idiot.
Grizzlies are at a cross road for a young team. The path to a championship is much tougher this year and they motivated the whole league with their arrogant comments. They have a few holes that need to be filled. Brooks is now a headcase so trading him will not get much back but maybe a draft pick.
Trading Poeltl away should be the last step of what’s seemed like an extremely long road to get Charles Bassey the pt/recognition he deserves… link to m.youtube.com
Irving is a clown that can play some great ball. Unfortunately sometimes he is a bigger clown than ball player and the Nets got tired of it. I don’t think he will ever be reliable enough to win another championship. He should have at least 2 by now. Got hurt with Cavs and got foolish with Nets. I’d never give this bum a big extension.
I maintain the belief that the Grizzlies will never win a championship with Brooks on the roster due to his horrible shot selection and boneheaded plays as well as his overall inefficiency. Yes, his defense is good but they’re going to have to trade him and find another way to replace it.
Kyrie is some delusional if he actually believes what he’s saying. What a clown.