As NBA training camp gets set to tip off, the Brooklyn Nets held their media day Monday, giving reporters an opportunity to grill polarizing point guard Kyrie Irving about his status with the team.
Despite expressing his displeasure with reporters and how he’s been covered by the press over the last year, Irving attended media day, his first in-person appearance for the event since 2019. And to his credit, Irving was unfiltered and even chummy with reporters during his Monday morning press conference.
At one point during the offseason, it appeared the Nets might enter training camp without Irving, who was in a contract dispute, or Kevin Durant, who demanded a trade. Ultimately, both superstars agreed to remain in Brooklyn following a drama-filled summer that Irving aptly described as a “clusterf*ck” at media day.
Kyrie Irving calls Nets' offseason a "clusterf*ck" pic.twitter.com/1fLyNd5IZk
— Brandon Contes (@BrandonContes) September 26, 2022
“It’s just one of those shocking things as you’re watching your best friend go through the other side of the media storm that comes with this trade request and being in the middle of, you know it’s kind of like a clusterf*ck,” Irving said of Durant. “You know what I mean? All of this. All of the stories that we’ve come up with, all of the narratives surrounding this team, it’s hard to answer every single question about us and what our intent is.”
YES Network, which aired media day live, failed to censor Irving’s f-bomb. And somehow, reporters failed to ask Durant whether he demanded to have head coach Steve Nash and GM Sean Marks fired by the franchise.
Despite the media’s shortcomings during Durant’s Monday press conference, Irving picked them up with his unfiltered quote. The FCC and YES Network may not have approved of Irving’s f-bomb, but his NSFW adjective choice perfectly categorized Brooklyn’s offseason.
The Nets wild offseason was very much a “clusterf*ck,” which only adds to the curiosity about how their regular season will ultimately be categorized now that Irving, Durant, Nash and Marks are all still with the team. Although Irving has criticized the media’s desire to fabricate narratives, the fourth estate shouldn’t have to stray far from the truth to write polarizing headlines about two superstars who helped create a “clusterf*ck” of an offseason.
