Kyrie Irving addressed reporters Tuesday, two weeks after his last game, four days after the NBA fined him $ 50,000 for violating his safety and health protocols and 24 hours before he planned to return to training he will have a decidedly different look from the one on the left.
More than 12 minutes into a Zoom call, Irving said very little.
But in saying little, he said much.
Irving was not interested in publicly explaining his absence. “There are a lot of personal and family things,” Irving said. He was not inclined to address his violation of league protocols, which came to light after a video of a maskless Irving appeared at a family birthday party. “Happy to be back,” Irving said without doing anything. When asked if he was okay, Irving, with his body dropped forward in the seat, his arms folded, his chin resting on his forearms, simply nodded.
Irving has no obligation to explain anything publicly, of course. He says he addressed his teammates, some individually, and that he was willing to move on. These teammates have been supportive. Steve Nash has expressed his excitement for Irving’s return. The arrival of James Harden has given Brooklyn a veritable Big Three, if Irving is committed to being a part of it.
Irving is back, but if there’s anything to take away from Irving’s media availability it’s that everything that took him away from the team still weighs heavily on him. Irving has always been quirky, the controversies he has been embroiled in (flat land, buried excavations at ex-partner LeBron James, etc.) have often been self-inflicted. This, however, feels different. After the massacres of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, Irving adopted the growing social justice movement. Last June, Irving was one of the strongest voices urging players to consider boycotting the NBA rematch. Irving’s last game was on January 5thth. A day later, violent domestic terrorists attacked the United States Capitol.
Irving said he has had to create a “separation” between the current political climate and playing in the NBA.
He also said the event in recent months was “hard to ignore.”
“I’d be lying here sitting and saying I don’t feel what’s going on in the world, nor am I paying attention to it,” Irving said. “I have a huge responsibility, I feel, to continue to serve my community and the poor. And when I’m playing here, I keep getting to know these guys and committing to something, as I always say, bigger than us. “
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There could be another problem. The Nets are a better team than the one left by Irving. Harden has been brilliant in his first two games in Brooklyn. He racked up a 30-point triple in his Nets debut. He followed with a 34-point effort and 12 assists in a narrow win over Milwaukee. His reunion with Durant, a former Oklahoma City teammate, has seemed perfect.
Irving should be happy to join a team with this kind of firepower. And maybe yes. But this is Irving. He forced a change from Cleveland just a year after winning a championship. He stopped Boston months after publicly proclaiming that he would return. In 2019, Irving, for the first time in control of his future, chose Brooklyn, chose Durant, chose to pursue a championship in his national market with his closest friend.
He chose not to do anything with Harden. Asked about Harden’s addition, Irving’s response felt measured. “It’s really exciting to be able to play with great players who have been here in the league for a while,” Irving said. “I have gone through ups and downs, peaks and valleys. James is aligned with us in terms of experience. Adding that to our wardrobe will be great for us. “
Does he look like a player looking forward to another Big Three experience?
“When things get overwhelming in life, you just have to step back and realize how important it is,” Irving said. “And I love to play, it’s never been a question. I made a commitment when it wasn’t. It’s not even a thing for me.”
Irving’s acceptance is critical to Brooklyn’s success. The networks are far from flawless. The trade, coupled with the loss of Spencer Dinwiddie due to an ACL injury, stole the depth of the team. The defense, already unstable, is worse. There is a lot of responsibility in DeAndre Jordan and Jeff Green. Harden’s first game is promising. He has been willing to be a player, important for a team that has to share the ball.
But will Irving take on a role that takes him further away from the ball?
Will Irving, who signed to play with Durant, be willing to sacrifice more of his offense to play with Harden?
“Very excited,” Irving said, all like anything.
Irving is not a bad guy. He has paid tuition for children from his former high school, The Patrick School. He has literally provided the money to save the school from closure. It has renovated the gym, locker room and weight room. On Tuesday, Irving confirmed he was involved in buying a home for Floyd’s family, who was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer last May. Don’t look for credit: Floyd’s story only appeared after Stephen Jackson, a close friend of Floyd’s, revealed it in a podcast.
But Irving is complicated. He likes to play basketball, but he doesn’t care about some of the responsibilities it entails. He wants to win, but it seems he just wants to do it on his own terms. He can be part of something special in Brooklyn, a championship team that can get titles for years to come. Or he may decide that this situation is not for him and be part of the reason he gets rid of it.