NETS GM Sean Marks says Nets 'were cautious early on' about signing Kyrie Irving
If you root for the Brooklyn Nets you probably were just like everyone else and were excited about Kyrie Irving’s announcement in June that he was joining his hometown team. However, not all Nets fans shared the same sentiment.
Whether you followed Irving, the Boston Celtics, or just the NBA in general last season, chances are you heard about the soap opera that was Kyrie and the Celtics.
From his time in Cleveland with LeBron, besides butting heads a few times with the King, he was thought of as a peaceful guy. August 2017 he then forced his way out of Cleveland and onto the Celtics. It was smooth sailing during the first season in Boston, but his second season (last season) was night and day compared to that.
It started in October of 2018 with Irving declaring how he had every intention of resigning with the Celtics if they extended the offer once he became a free agent. That same month he opened up about considering going to play for one of his hometown teams (Nets or Knicks) when he was still trying to get out of Cleveland.
Then early in November, after going 1-4 on a road trip Irving started crying for help pointing out how the roster could use some veteran additions.
The following January he pretty much echoed the same sentiment, this time pointing fingers at the younger players saying they lacked experience. Shortly after he let the world know how he called former teammate LeBron to apologize to him for taking his leadership for granted when they were on the Cavs together.
Lastly, in February he doubled back on his resigning statement and stated how he didn’t owe anybody anything and that when free agency came he would make the decision that was best for him.
That was the short version believe it or not. Sadly for the Celtics, while all of this was going on they were trying their best to take advantage of the fact that LeBron was no longer in the East and had a fair chance of making the NBA Finals, just as much as the Milwaukee Bucks, the Toronto Raptors and the Philadelphia 76ers.
With that being said about Irving, this is something any team would look into before immersing a player into their culture. So besides Irving constantly being linked to the New York/New Jersey area throughout his career due to his upbringing in the garden state, was that all it took for Brooklyn to tell Irving to sign on the dotted line? Or did they need some type of agreement from the 6x All-Star that it would be all business and fresh start here in Brooklyn?
“It’s something we were pretty cautious of early [on],” said Nets GM Sean Marks.
“You know we didn’t want to judge somebody without really getting to know them, so the more we got to know Kyrie and the more he’s been around our guys we’ve seen obviously the play on the court and practices…Kyrie’s leadership is growing all of the time and it’s great to see him around the team and form bonds with staff and players alike.”
There you have it. The Nets were in fact cautious but with the expertise that the NBA champion brings to a franchise without an NBA championship, it was a chance worth taking.
For those who do follow Irving closely, you can definitely say there’s been some growth in him as a player, going from being a scorer to now being a leader.
In his first game with the Nets tonight he did a heck of a job leading, by breaking the franchise record with the most points ever scored in a Nets debut with 50 points, 7 assists and 8 rebounds, nearly notching a triple-double.
