“Now that we have everybody — a full collective group — I am just excited to continue to grow and build. It is not just me. I am grateful that I get to share the floor with just so many other great players, just good players with high IQs and you know, it is just so different here. I love it.”
Irving missed much of last season due to various injuries. Durant missed the entire season while rehabbing an Achilles injury.
They both looked phenomenal on Sunday, combining for 33 points on 12-of-21 shooting in limited minutes.
It was the first step in a season defined by championship expectations.
Last week, the focus among some media and fans was off the court following Irving’s decision to issue a statement during the NBA’s media week rather than speak with reporters. He and the Nets were fined $25,000 each for the decision not to have Irving speak to the media.
Ashley Blackwood, Chief Communications Officer for Irving & KAI Enterprise, said that Irving intended to speak with the media during the season. But some reporters/fans expected Irving to opt out of talking to the media for the entire season, which could potentially create a negative storyline for Brooklyn.
But Irving spoke on Monday, answering questions for nearly 20 minutes. One question was about his decision to not speak with media last week.
"The focus is on what's going on in here, you know, my job,” Irving said. “And I wanted to make sure that that was clear, no distractions, nothing about dispelling anything, nothing about going back-and-forth, nor about calling out one person or another, not even to refer to you guys as pawns, you know what I mean, or media. It's just really how I felt about the mistreatment of certain artists when we get to a certain platform of when we make decisions within our lives to have full control and ownership.
“You know, we go through the rigorous season, we do everything we’re asked to do, and we want to perform in a secure and protected space. And if I can’t have my voice protected on this platform where I offer myself and my art, just inviting everyone to it because this is what I've been blessed to do. You know I didn't make it from the best circumstances, I made it because my family had a foundation and taught me the right things how to live a principled life. So having that in basketball in my art, you know, it's just finding a balance, and that’s all."
Here's more from Irving on other Nets-related topics:
On Steve Nash: "Steve’s been amazing. And it really is a reflection of the type of person he is, and the IQ he has for the game. He commands the respect and it's not through just coming in and being the kind of typical rah rah coach being on us. It’s just giving us a comfortable space to grow, to communicate, to throw ideas out there. And then you’ve got a two-time MVP coaching you."
Irving then smiled and said he’d have to walk back the comments he made before the season on Durant’s ETC’s podcast about the Nets not having a head coach.
“You know, I think I’ve got to take back my comments in terms of the head coach back a few months ago. But it's just like, man, we have such a great synergy. Everyone feels like we're coaching one another to be better, so I'm grateful for that," Irving said.
On reports of James Harden wanting to be traded to Brooklyn: “That part of our business is going to be what it is. You know there's no control that we have as players to at least manage what's being said in terms of rumor mills and what's being reported. Let's just leave it at that. James is a great player and we wish him well. I just want him to be happy, be secure in who he is as a man first and then as a basketball player whatever happens those conversations are between them. But we're focused on us.”
On Nets’ title aspirations: “We got to continue to make progress every single day and craft and that's just doing little things every single day in terms of when you get to that level which is ultimately the NBA Finals, which is the biggest goal for us, to compete at that level. And we know the monsters that are getting together and all these different teams which I'm excited for, I mean the league is going to be that much more exciting and as a competitor you want to build your team the best without anything mattering when it comes down to putting that ball in the hoop Game 1 through 7 in the Finals. This is the beginning of the journey, use every day to get better.”
Leading the Nets with Durant/teaming up with Durant: “We have a great relationship. But our synergy carries over to everyone else and we allow each other to teach, to learn, to do it every single day. When I first became close with Kev, it was just built on that. It was talking about our circumstances that we grew up, our journeys. And then it transferred to our activities that we wanted to be a part of outside – whether it be business, whether it be playing together. And we were like man, this thing can happen. And we had to wait, maybe a year and a half. And it came to fruition and now you guys get to see a product that has been worked on for the last few months. So we do things to continue to be closer as brothers but as well as keep everyone else engaged with us. Because our greatness is even better together than alone, which is why we’re together.”
