By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Commenting on teammate Kyrie Irving being suspended by the Brooklyn Nets, Kevin Durant made it pretty clear that he would prefer to avoid the whole thing and focus on the team.
“I’m not here to judge somebody or talk down on their life or how they feel their views. I just didn’t like anything that went on. I felt like it was all unnecessary,” he stressed, relays Brian Lewis of the New York Post, “I felt like we could have just kept playing basketball and kept quiet as an organization.”
Irving, 30, promoted an antisemitic film through social media and was eventually suspended for at least five games without pay. He then issued an apology that was a ‘first step’, said general manager Sean Marks.
“This is the way the NBA is now, media, so many outlets now and their stories hit pretty fast now. So that’s where all the chaos is coming from. Everybody has an opinion on the situation, and we’re hearing it nonstop,” added Durant.
Marks, 47, besides discussing the next steps toward Irving being reinstated, added that the organization did not consider waiving the experienced point guard. But the earliest possible date for his return is November 13 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Coming up on the schedule of the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season, a three-game road trip with stops in Washington, Charlotte, and Dallas stretches Friday through Monday. Interim head coach Jacques Vaughn will be aiming to improve the current 2-6 record.
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