More firepower.

With Kyrie Irving back probably not much longer from him to be out.

He practiced for the first time with the team today, and Nets coach Steve Nash said It's great to have him back in the building.

He expects Kyrie to play tomorrow against the Cavs.

Kyrie missed the last seven games due to personal reasons and covert protocols, and here he was addressing the media for the first time.

Take a listen.

I'm wondering if you were aware that you had violated the health and safety protocols and what that process was like for you in coming back and going through that investigation one.

And then Secondly, what your communication was like with the team while you were away.

Happy to be back, Happy around.

These guys addressed the team, addressed everybody that need to be addressed, not a move on.

I just was circling back on the health and safety front, happy to be back.

I'll be my hometown kids.

So you know, things get a little different when, uh, you know, family or personal stuff going on, and that's up to me to handle that as a as a man.

Um, but yeah, I just take full accountability for my absence with the guys and, you know, just had a conversation with each one of them.

Then we move on just, you know, pretty interesting in watching when you take a break from everything.

There's just so many assumptions about what's going on.

And so many people feel like they know me best.

They have no idea who I am or what I'm about or what I stand for, even attempt to take the time, or even for me to invite them to take the time.

So it's a two way street, Um, and when things become overwhelming in life, you know, you just got to take a step back and realize what's important.

That's the big thing.

I just want honesty.

And in order, to be honest, I gotta be honest myself.

And that's the first thing.

So I know I can talk in circles, and I know all these words get used, but I'm just being honest.

Here is has been a lot, um, the balance, and now it's I called for help, and now I have just so many mentors and so many people reaching out and you know, just taking things off my plate that were never mind in the first place, and they are better suited for that position.

So I play my role on this big team and changing the world, and others will do the same.

So pretty expansive there at the end.

Richard, what's your reaction to Kerry's comments?

Well, look, you know, people actually got criticized when I said, I hope he gets whatever you know, emotional, whatever.

You know mentally, you know, whatever help he needs, whether it's a lot going on.

And he needed to have mentors people reach out to when people checking in, I said, I said that a couple we had on the show a couple days because it's more of like, Hey, Kyrie, Kyrie needs some time.

We all get overwhelmed and athletes are.

It's the literally the only job where you don't just get to be like, Hey, you know, I need a couple days off now I understand the money.

I understand the months off, but if in the middle of the thick of it you're dealing with something and you need to take time off, shout out to, you know Kevin Love and DEMAR DeRozan, and it really talked a lot about dealing with their mental health and so whatever he needed, if he got what he needed.

And he now has an infrastructure that will allow him to deal with it good for him.

I'm glad to have him back.

It was good to just see him smile, you know, just to have him back.

He's one of our games greats, and, uh, you know, we all go through our trials and tribulations, and the only thing is, when you go through these things, it's about the respect of the organization and your teammates.

The constant because when he first went away, there was no communication.

Nobody knew what was going on.

That's what your teammates.

That's what the organization is there for you to help you in those times.

I know you have family.

They could help you.

Also.

It's just the only thing I had a problem with was the communication we all like.

I said, we go through things that we go through in life and sometimes it's tough to step away from the game.

But I used the game to help me get through these things.

Also, I like, needed to be on the court.

When I went through my troubles, I needed to be in practice.

I need to be around guys who relate, uh, to some of the things that we all go through as professional players and role models.

Kyrie noted that his family lives locally and that he said, that hits different.

Obviously, your involvement with your family.

If something is going on in your family, or even if something's just going on with him, everybody is there and around, which is a little bit different.

Home is that.

But one of the things that he talked about was like, Oh, well, a lot of people just started to assume Well, you know what happens when people assume is because there was no communication.

So I think they're like he takes some ownership of this.

I think people that were, you know, questioning him are criticizing, not criticizing him.

But more of like asking him what was going on are alluding to different things.

Well, that also falls on you, write that falls on you to communicate like Hey, I'm dealing with some personal stuff.

I need some time, way and you know, hopefully he learns from this, and if if he needs more time or whatever it is, it could be addressed.

I mean, look, he did say he said, People assume they know about me And he said, without even talking to me.

And then he very quickly corrected himself.

He said, or I don't wanna let him in to talk to me And he said, That's a two way street, which I certainly appreciated him making that distinction.

There were repeated questions at the beginning of Hey, what was going on with you?

Basically, And you heard him say, over and over again.

Hey, I've addressed it with the people I need to address.

Do you feel that there was enough information there?

Especially eventually, is he got into talking more for Brooklyn Nets fans, fans of the team he doesn't owe.

And this is I want to say this as a as a person that has been a net lifer.

He owes the fans very little, and I mean this from respect place.

He owes the teammates he owns because he, you know, hypothetically you could be traded, you could retired and then the fans like you don't owe them an answer.

Barry Sanders.

They're still looking for him in Detroit, Right?

Calvin Johnson?

They're still looking for him, right?

Like you could help and retire and not say anything to anybody.

So I don't say that you owe it to the people in the locker room.

The people that have supported you, the people that you go to bore with, the people that you go battle.

And if those guys air cool, then it's not up to.

The media is not up to the fans.

It's on Lee, the people that he has to show up with.

Everything you say, the people who support him, the fans support him.

I understand that.

But you can't.

You can't.

If you've got millions of millions of fans, you can't individually address them.

You can't tell everybody.

Gotta have some parts of your life that are private.

Absolutely.

That's that's my only thing is that as long as the people in the locker room are okay with him, then Kyrie can move forward and be the great player that he is right.

It's just tough when you're that individual feel like a lot, but they go out and play We'll win games.

Everybody will forget everything.

There you go.

Well, it looks like they're playing well already without him.

And then, boy, just add another elite player into the mix.

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