Kyrie Irving came face to face with members of the media on Monday. Irving is known in NBA circles as being largely against the media. Irving could have a point: sometimes reporters twist words to fit their narrative, but other times they just want a quote from the player. Regardless of his prior inhibitions, Irving was willing to talk to members of the press to clear the air among some of his past comments.
Ian Begley reported on Irving’s stance on a Malcolm X quote on Irving’s Instagram page, which expressed disdain for “propaganda” and seemed to refer to the media as “pawns”. Irving’s comments took the league by storm, with a former teammate disagreeing with Irving’s position. Irving attempted to clear the air when asked about the subject:
Kyrie Irving said he wasn’t referring to the media when he wrote on Instagram about not talking to ‘pawns.’ He referred to wanting to protect his voice and his platform.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) December 14, 2020
During his media availability, Irving stated that he just wanted to protect his own words. As someone with a mixed reputation within the league and with media, that sort of stance makes sense. Irving probably wants to make sure that no random reporter can twist his words as it happens with many players. With the Nets fining him for missed media availability before, it was nice to see the star point guard avoid that circumstance and make everything clear.
Irving also talked about James Harden during the session, who has relentlessly been linked to the Brooklyn Nets in trade rumors.
Kyrie was asked about the James Harden rumors.
Says players have no control over rumors and he just wants James to be happy
— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) December 14, 2020
Taylor Rooks reported that Irving just wanted Harden to “be happy”. Sometimes, happiness comes from leaving an unfavorable environment, which seems to be the case with Harden trying to leave the Houston Rockets. As someone who has been traded to a team that he didn’t like, Irving can definitely empathize with not wanting to be with a certain franchise. If James Harden gets traded to the Nets though, perhaps both players will be more than satisfied.
