Since Being Traded, Kyrie Irving Speaks For The First Time About His Nets Departure

Kyrie Irving won’t be playing against his former team again until Friday night when the Dallas Mavericks take on the Brooklyn Nets. He was transferred before the previous season’s midseason deadline.

Since Being Traded, Kyrie Irving Speaks For The First Time About His Nets Departure

Irving blames the media for a large portion of the “choice and noise” surrounding his time with the Nets, which included conflicting accounts of the events that led to the eventual disintegration of a superteam before it had much of an opportunity to play at the top level. Despite the way his exit transpired, he doesn’t think he’s on “bad terms” with the company.

On Friday, he faced his old team for the first time since leaving, as the Nets lost 125-120 to Irving’s Mavericks at American Airlines Center in a much-anticipated reunion.

In response to a query from The Post, Irving said, “I was just trying to enjoy the time that I had with some of my good friends and my peers in Brooklyn, with James [Harden] and [Kevin Durant], the young guys that we drafted.”

“We had a plan in place, and when plans change for individuals — and that happens, again, at any business — you’ve got to make the best decision for you and your family.

“So when you have that eye-to-eye communication with your teammates and people on staff, and you’re able to articulate how you feel, it shouldn’t matter what’s being said about you on the outside. And being there in New York, being in the media capital of the world, it’s the most political place in the world … other than L.A. or overseas places. But people carry or hold onto the weight of my words, and I’m not trying to put anybody in that predicament here or in Brooklyn. So I’m just really trying to move past that, man. And hopefully, everybody does the same.”

The Nets’ window for a title was blasted shut by the exits of Irving and Durant.

Coach Jacque Vaughn, nevertheless, claimed he doesn’t allow himself to consider “what if.”

“I think we should start thinking about this team here and go on to the next [up]. Thus, before Friday’s reunion, Vaughn stated, “I definitely appreciate my connection with [Irving], but I’m planning on coaching this team right now.”

Irving wanted to spend some time this weekend with Thomas and Claxton, two young teammates he left behind in Brooklyn and who the Nets would be visiting. Irving takes great delight in the memories he’s made of them.

“Yeah, absolutely. Proud of them. They’ve grown tremendously. They put in the hard work,” Irving said. “They’ve been rock-steady. For myself, even off-court, I was dealing with a lot of things, and for them to be so young and want to be there for me emotionally meant a lot. That’s why we have such a great bond to this day. It doesn’t matter what team we’re on; we’re always going to support each other.

“Those little moments of interaction mean a lot for me. There’s going to be a time where I’m not going to be playing basketball; I’m going to be an audience member watching them. So I just want to continue to give them tools that they’ll take on for the rest of their career so they can mentor the next generation as best they can.”

“It was the best decision of my career, just to be able to ask for a trade,” Irving said. “I knew I needed peace of mind. It was rough all the way around after COVID and after the situations that took place there, circumstances that were either in my control or out of my control.”the next generation as best they can.”

James Harden and Kevin Durant, two of Irving’s NBA celebrity buddies, were teammates during his brief time with the Nets. Irving was still restricted by local laws that kept him from playing in home games, so Harden asked to be transferred.

 

 

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