Kyrie Irving opens up on joining Nets, personal struggles with Celtics and protecting Kevin Durant

Jordan Greer

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Kyrie Irving opens up on joining Nets, personal struggles with Celtics and protecting Kevin Durant image

Kyrie Irving covered a lot of ground during his first public appearance in a Nets jersey.

At Friday's media day, the former Cavs and Celtics guard discussed a number of topics, including his free-agency decision and relationship with new teammate and longtime friend Kevin Durant. Both Irving and Durant signed four-year deals with Brooklyn this past offseason, aligning the All-Stars' careers through the rest of their primes.

MORE: Steve Kerr explains why he wasn't surprised Durant left Warriors for Nets

However, Irving will be the clear No. 1 option for the upcoming season as Durant recovers from a torn Achilles he suffered in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals. Nets general manager Sean Marks said he doesn't expect Durant to play in 2019-20, so all eyes will be on Irving as Brooklyn attempts to transition from plucky playoff team to true contender.

So yes, there was plenty to talk about as Irving hit the main stage Friday.

On deciding to join the Nets in free agency

"This is the perfect place to do it. This has been a very hard-working place for the last four years of putting together a team here in Brooklyn, transferring from New Jersey, transitioning from New Jersey over here to Brooklyn. It's just been an incredible, incredible journey to observe from afar, just as a player in the NBA."

On his free agency with Nets teammates Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan

"With KD and DJ, it was 4:16 in the morning, us just talking about our futures and how this opportunity ahead of us is something that we haven't had in our careers — the ability to make a choice, sitting down, actually talking in detail about the future and the investment we had in one another and the investment we wanted to have in Brooklyn. So it made sense all the way around."

On leaving the Celtics and his personal struggles

"Nine months ago, I was sitting in front of the Boston crowd saying that I wanted to re-sign. After that, a lot of things happened in my personal life that really changed the landscape of how I felt about the game of basketball and actually playing it in a game environment. That really affected me as a human being. I didn't share it with anyone."

On protecting Kevin Durant after the Achilles injury

"We all know [Durant] 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 the person, Kevin. And now I'm here to protect that. I'm going to be a protector of that all throughout the year... You'll never hear me say, 'He's coming back here or I think he's coming.' I want him to be 101 percent healthy."

Jordan Greer

Jordan Greer Photo

Jordan Greer has been with The Sporting News since 2015. He previously worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is a graduate of Westminster College and Syracuse University.