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After the Brooklyn Nets went through one of the most turbulent summers in recent memory, Kyrie Irving wants to move forward. He sat down with ESPN's Nick Friedell and cited accountability as one of the ways the team can get past its proclivity for making headlines.
“I'll tell you right now — it extends all the way up,” Irving told ESPN on Oct. 13. “From [Nets owner] Joe [Tsai] all the way to the 16th guy on the team. We all can feel it because we all have a piece in our success. And we all have a piece in when we fail. So that accountability that we continue to hold for each other is definitely something that we're going to continue to build on, and I think the results will speak for themselves.”
Irving and the Nets will return to some form of normalcy when their season opens on Oct. 19 against the New Orleans Pelicans. The seven-time all-star was not able to play in home games last year after opting to not receive a COVID-19 vaccine, which was mandated by New York City. Now, he will be full go for the Brooklyn this year.
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A part of that return to normalcy includes not having to deal with constant questioning about when Ben Simmons would return to the court. Simmons, who is still ramping up his minutes, has already received preseason action with Irving and 12-time all-star Kevin Durant. Irving was asked about how he is helping Simmons get through the media scrutiny he has endured for a better part of two years now.
“This is an emotional time in our world,” Kyrie Irving told ESPN. “People attack other people for what they believe in, their jobs, whatever it is. So harsh criticism is part of it, but what's justified is how you respond. And how you deal with it. … The moment he wakes up and he realizes like, ‘That's not actually my life. I have a loving, supportive system around me of people that care about me, and these are people that I can go to for honest answers.'”
