Kyrie Irving: ‘When Kevin Durant made the trade request, I feel like we got better’

A video of Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine and Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant working out with NBA trainer/skills coach Drew Hanlen. -via Twitter / October 19, 2022

Some turbulence followed. Gallinari suffered a torn ACL in his left knee while playing for Italy during a FIBA World Cup qualifier in August and will be out the entire season. Robert Williams will be out 8-12 weeks after he had surgery on his left knee, the same knee that sidelined him at times during the postseason run. There were also the rumors of Brown being involved in a trade for Kevin Durant. “All I can say now is that I’m here,” Brown said. Smart added, “KD is great, don’t get me wrong, anybody would love to have KD. But everybody would love to have Jaylen Brown as well. -via USA Today Sports / October 18, 2022

Mobley said he closely watched Durant’s routine before the pickup games. He tried to collect any little pointers. There are now various Durant drills Mobley has added to his regimen as a result. “Me and him, we were going at each other,” Mobley said when asked about those intense summer battles. “It was fun. He would go at me, and I would go at him. We were just working on our games. He told me that he liked my game. It challenges you. Like I said, it was really fun.” -via Cleveland Plain Dealer / October 18, 2022

Irving also shared some of his early career regrets, specifically focusing on what he’s learned about “the NBA business.” He said when he asked for a trade out of Cleveland in 2017, “there were a lot of things that happened in the business that I didn’t understand.” “When I asked for a trade from Cleveland, the one thing that I look back on is: Did I exhaust as many opportunities to get closer to guys when I felt some type of difference? There was a lot of things that happened in the business that I didn’t understand,” he said. “Asking for a trade — I don’t think it was my time to ask for a trade. And especially to go to Boston, who was No. 2 or No. 1 in our conference, it’s just right down the street. I’m grateful that I had my time there because it was one of the most historical franchises that again, I did not know the power of our industry. -via The Athletic / October 19, 2022

“When I reflect on it, at 30 years old I can say I understand the business better, I understand the way that roles work, and if anybody can sit here honestly and say they messed up, it was me. Because if I’m saying that it is family-run and relationship-run, then while I was in these situations I didn’t handle all of those relationships as I would have wanted.” -via The Athletic / October 19, 2022

Shams Charania: Part 2 of Kyrie Irving on @Stadium: “I’m going for every piece of hardware that I could possibly get out of the NBA.” On the Nets post-KD trade request, his team bonding event, admitting “I don’t think it was my time to ask for a trade” with Cavs, Uncle Drew, meaning of A11Even. pic.twitter.com/TI4IKfOBEs -via Twitter @ShamsCharania / October 19, 2022