Hey, guys, I'm not coming with malice.

Uh, let's get along.

You know, like I'm not trying to diss anybody or say anything.

I'm just trying to do my job.

Can we just get along?

But I got to say it because you're asking me point blank.

Is he making sense?

Nope.

He's not making sense.

I'm not sure what he means.

I didn't like I don't know what idea he was trying to articulate.

I understand he doesn't want distractions, but in fact, stonewalling the media creates more distractions.

And then when he went off on this thing about artists and platform safe and secure, let's break this down for a second before we even get to whether basketball players an artist, because I think you can absolutely make a case.

They are that art is kind of like what they've achieved at a certain point, Um, when he says safe and secure, is he talking about health?

Is he talking about co vid?

Is he talking about some physical danger?

I didn't think so, but maybe because it was unclear what he said is I frequently find when he, when he speaks in public or releases the statement.

I don't find it clear.

So let's assume for a second that he's not talking about a safe and secure platform.

Foreign artist.

Let's say he's talking about some other kind of safe and secure thing like the way college sophomores might talk about PC safe spaces, right?

Something like that.

I mean, if that's the case.

Kyra, I got no problem with Kyrie considering himself an artist.

If you watch him play, you know that that's just you know it when you see it.

That guy is amazing toe watch, and if you want to say he elevates basketball toe art, I get it.

I agree, Um, but when artists put out it's self expression, you know, examples of their self expression into the world.

They express themselves here.

Here's what I got that's open to interpretation, criticism, critique.

It's not all just like positivity or whatever Kyrie thinks it's supposed to be about.

There will be a lot of it about his play because it's sensational.

Kyrie might be the best show in sports, but there's also going to be critique of it and if that means that it's not a safe and secure platform foreign artist, then we just disagree.

But Stephen, as is usually the case when Kyrie puts out a statement, I don't find it a clear statement with which I can definitively say that I disagree with this because I'm not sure that's what he meant.

If he's talking about being physically safe and secure because a cove in Kyrie I'm with you.

If you're talking about this other thing, then if I'm understanding you correctly, I just disagree based on the content of your point.

Mhm.

I don't mean it the way that Kyrie would probably take it, but I hope he's listening when I say this.

Somebody he respected and loved and idolized was Kobe Bryant.

I don't think Kobe Bryant would be happy about some of the convoluted things that you just alluded to, and I only mean that respectfully towards Kyrie Irving, in this sense, whatever you have to say, be clear.

As you said Max, not cryptic, not ambiguous or anything like that.

Be clear.

That's all I'm talking about.

When I talk about Kobe Bryant would be disappointed.

Max Kellerman, you worked in L.

A.

We all know how I knew Kobe and the media knew Kobe.

Kobe was one of the most articulate brothers, one of the most brilliant brothers you would ever find.

And you could no doubt if you could dispute sky what he was saying or whatever.

Hold on.

But but But what you could never dispute about Kobe Bryant is that you under you didn't understand what he was saying.

He was very clear in his messages.

We might not like what Kevin Durant says.

Sometimes he's very clear in his messages.

We might debate about what LeBron James they're saying from time to time, Russell Westbrook said.

They're very clear and what they're saying.

The issue of Kyrie Irving is not only does he not appear to be clear, but also he's taking it toe levels that it doesn't need to be taken.

You wanted to make sure there were no distractions.

What possible distraction did you expect on media day to start an MBA season?

Obviously, people are there to talk to you about basketball.

Now there are things going on in the life of Kyrie Irving that transcend the sports, and I totally understand that and because of that, there are things that are significantly more important to him than just basketball.

We should appreciate and understand that, particularly with the year that we have had.

Kyrie Irving is right about that.

But the point is, when it comes to your job, that's the only reason the media was there.

So when you say you don't want to talk, then somebody is looking at you like, Well, you don't want to talk about basketball.

Well, that happens to be your job, and you have.

You have a contractual obligation to talk about the sport.

I don't believe he has a contractual obligation to talk about anything else.

And whatever he wants to talk about is his business.

And whatever he wants to do so long is his legal is his business.

And whatever he wants to be preoccupied with is his business.

I support Kyrie Irving on that.

All I'm saying is when it comes to basketball, that's what you get paid an average of $35 million to play, that is your job and the media is there to cover you as the basketball player.

So if you look down on them not saying he is or isn't.

But if you're looking down on somebody because they want to talk to you about basketball, then essentially you're lamenting the job that you signed on to produce, right?

And that doesn't seem to make sense.

The bottom line that somebody has to tell him that respectfully, yeah, bottom line is Michelangelo anyone?

You know, the greatest artist through history.

If Kyrie wants to call himself an artist again, I'm not pushing back against that.

You watch playing basketball and he wants to say, I'm an artist with Kyrie.

I agree with that.

That's right.

And you know what?

When an artist creates work, it will be scrutinized, criticized, critiqued, analyzed.

People will think it's beautiful and they have a lot of good things to say about it, and they will also have things that you will consider not positive or negative.

That is the nature of art.

So Kyrie, it seems to me, is, um he needs to grow up with respect to this issue.

He can't control everything.

He can't control people's reactions.

There's always going to be criticism, and and his job right now is to win a championship.

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