And I guess by all year long he meant the weekend because he seems to have spoken for 15 minutes today and Malika was there to hear it.

She joins me on ESPN radio.

Malika, Thank you for jumping in.

What did Kyrie say?

Kyrie actually said a lot.

Um, this is like you said It was the first time that we have actually been able to speak with him, that he's spoken to any reporters since February, since when he had his shoulder surgery, which feels like many, many, many years ago.

If you look like when Tom Brady was with the Patriots, that's when that was happening because, well, you know, it was before everything that has been going on in 2020.

But what Kyrie said really kind of most importantly was three things that stood out to me.

One.

He reacted to playing with Kevin Durant for the first time which happened last night to he addressed his, uh, statement, If you will.

Instagram statement in which he said that he will not speak to quote unquote pawns and clarified that he was talking about anybody who would have a disparaging comments about what he characterizes as his art.

He feels that artists, basketball being his arts, either his words, uh, they're already subjected thio a incessant amount of negativity and criticism, and that is what he was trying to avoid.

And then third, if you remember Greeny and I know this was a while ago because it just feels like everything in 2020 is just inching by.

He had said on a podcast, maybe two months ago, that the Net don't have a coach, that everybody is the coach, that he's the coach, that Kevin Durant is the coach.

On any given day, he walked that back and instead said, You know what?

Now that I have worked with Steve Nash for a couple of weeks, I need to take those comments back two time M v p.

And he's one heck of the coach of the attack.

Yeah, it is.

It's a lot because there is a lot with him.

Ah, lot comes with Kyrie.

He is a brilliant talent.

I am one who has used the term art.

When it comes to this, I've compared watching Michael Jordan play to what it must have been like to watch Mozart play the piano.

Are Picasso painting a painting?

I don't think that's a ridiculous analogy.

Did you get any?

What feeling did you walk away from it with?

Like he was saying he wasn't talking to the media.

I don't care what he now how he now tries to characterize it, that that's what he was trying to say.

And obviously he has realized, for whatever reason, that that's just not a workable situation, which I agree with.

I commend him for coming to that realization.

However he did.

Did you walk away from it with a decent feeling that this thing can work out for him and Kevin and all of them together in Brooklyn?

Yeah, well, you know, it's They played one preseason game.

They looked pretty good last night, although Kevin Durant said that he still felt like it was an okay game.

It wasn't a perfect game, and really, where his tests are going to be a deep into the season when he wants to be playing his best basketball in the playoffs.

But walking away from Kyrie today one you know I do.

When he sent out the initial statements on December 4th saying that he is going to move differently this season, it could have been interpreted many ways.

Many people did interpret it as he was not going to talk for the foreseeable future.

I reached out to his publicist, who sent the statement and clarified, Is this how he will be speaking with reporters for the rest of the season communicating for the rest of the season?

And she told me No, that it would be a combination of statements and as well as quote traditional outlets in traditional outlets is doing these press conferences.

And so I was of the belief that was it would only be a matter of time.

It was just about whether or not it was going to get to the point where the league stepped in and they did.

They find the Nets and and Kyrie Irving $25,000 each just a couple of days ago on on Friday, so what made this happen today.

I think that's probably up to interpretation.

But when Kyrie sat down, he was chipper as you like for context.

Kevin Durant's press conferences have been running about 7 to 10 minutes.

Kyrie talked almost twice that long, so he was using reporters names.

He seemed happy to be there.

He said he was thankful to be talking to us.

Andi, you could take what you will from that.

I believe that today Kyrie was happy Thio or tolerating the questions that he was being asked.

I felt that he was being honest and reflective.

But it's too early to say whether or not that that is going to translate for the rest of the season.

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