New Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving was introduced to the media on Tuesday, one day after his trade from the Brooklyn Nets became official.
Taking questions from the media following a drama-filled tenure in Brooklyn, it became pretty clear that Irving was frustrated with what went down in the Big Apple.
“I want to be somwhere where I’m celebrated, not just tolerated or just kinda dealt with in a way that doesn’t make me feel respected ,” Irving told reporters.
After signing with Brooklyn back in the summer of 2019, drama followed Irving wherever he went as a member of the Nets. Whether it was a rift with the media, problems within the Nets’ organization or something else, it became clear early on that things were not going to work out. Irving touched on that, too.
“There were times throughout this process when I was in Brooklyn where I felt very disrespected. No one ever talks about my work ethic. Everyone talks about what I’m doing off the floor. I just want to change that narrative,” Kyrie Irving on his time with the Nets.
It does seem to an extent that Irving is playing the victim card here. A lot of the issues with Brooklyn had to do with his own off-court actions. Sharing a documentary with several antisemitic themes on social media and initially refusing to apologize for it is the most-recent example of that. It led to the Nets suspending Irving.
In an interesting twist, Irving appears to have deleted his initial apology following the scandal. He touched on that Tuesday, too.
“I delete a lot of things on my IG. I didn’t mean to be defensive or go at anybody. I stand by my apology and I stand by my people, everywhere,” Irving told reporters.”
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Kyrie Irving now looking forward to future with the Dallas Mavericks
It wasn’t all about focusing on the past during Irving’s presser on Tuesday. He did talk about what it means to join star guard Luka Doncic and the Mavericks while detailing how the past 48 hours have gone.
“Super excited. Grateful for the opportunity. Really feel wanted. I know they had to move pieces to get me here. I don’t take that for granted,” Irving told reporters. “It’s been nothing but a warm embrace and genuine love.”
The eight-time All-Star and NBA champion now joins a Mavericks team that boasts one of the best players in the game, Luka Doncic. Dallas gave up two core pieces in Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith as well as multiple draft picks to bring him aboard.
It’s certainly going to be interesting to see this marriage play out in real time. Irving should make his Mavericks debut Wednesday evening against the Clippers in Southern California. As you might imagine, the NBA world will be all over that.