Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving spoke to the media today during a press conference in which Kevin Durant made his first official appearance for the team in his No. 7 Nets uniorm. Durant spoke about his reasons for leaving the Golden State Warriors in this summer’s free agency and Kyrie Irving spoke about Durant’s Achilles injury.
Suggesting that factions in the Warriors organization are to blame for throwing Durant directly from incomplete rehab into a competitive Finals matchup, Irving said:
A lot of people have responsibility for why [Durant tore his Achilles] the way it happened on the national scale. We all know [Kevin] was not ready to play in that environment. We all know that, whether people want to admit it or not.
He was out 31 days, and we put him on a national stage in the Finals — to end up selling a product that came before [Kevin the person].
And now I’m here to protect [Kevin the person] all throughout the year. I’m not going to allow anyone to infiltrate that circle.
Irving says he’s prepared to be patient with the Nets’ development in Durant’s absence, no matter how long it may take him to get back on the court. Irving says he doesn’t want his friend to return until he’s “101%.”
