Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving has missed each of his team's previous 13 games due to a right shoulder injury. That absence doesn't appear to be ending in the immediate future, which has brought Irving under the scope of criticism.

But Nets general manager Sean Marks, who was integral in bringing Irving aboard during the summer, is taking a different perspective:

“I think everybody’s entitled to their opinion,” Marks said, per Mike Mazzeo of Yahoo Sports. “All I’m going to say is I’m never going to judge a guy on another team until I get to know that person. … He’s legitimately hurt.

“I think we’ve seen how competitive Kyrie is when he was healthy at the beginning of the season. And I give him credit for wanting to be back out there at 100 percent. So let’s judge this book when we get through a few chapters here — not the first 5-10 games of the season.”

Irving has played in 11 games this year, in which Brooklyn has gone 4-7. Since his absence, the team has won nine of its past 13 games, with Spencer Dinwiddie entering the starting five and proving to be a breakout star.

The Nets and Irving joined at the hip during the off-season on a four-year deal that pays the six-time All-Star in excess of $136 million. The plan moving forward has been to team Irving up with fellow superstar Kevin Durant, who is expected to miss the entire 2019-20 year as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon.

As Marks reiterated, the Brooklyn story will likely be told over the long haul, not the first month and a half of Irving's first season in his new city.