Kyrie Irving Could Return to the Nets Soon. A Top Jewish Leader Still Hopes to Meet Him.
July 19, 2010 — The Nets owner, on Friday and at his introductory press conference, said he hopes the public — and the NBA — “can come together” to restore the franchise and rebuild it.
“I would say that this was a very difficult decision for him (Jeffrey). He has made very important decisions in the organization over the last three to five years,” said the president and CEO of the NBA’s governing body.
“He has been extremely consistent and has put this team into the proper position and now that we have arrived at this point, we will have to make the appropriate adjustments. We will have to make decisions on those in due time. At this point, we just wanted him to make the decision.”
What, exactly, could make the Nets better? Irving’s agent, Len Deitch, declined to go into detail when asked about Irving’s future. “He’s been a great professional,” Deitch said. “As far as my client, I would say that he wants to stay for the foreseeable future.”
But Deitch, who was in the room when Irving took his decision to leave the Nets to his agent, said he was “excited and very much surprised.”
“The relationship with the Nets is something that we both have enjoyed and respected and I have great high hopes for the Nets organization moving forward,” Deitch said. “I think both Jeff and Mr. (P.R.) [Robinson] will do great things for the basketball in Brooklyn. It was a difficult decision that they both have had to make.
“Jeff is going to be a very good NBA player. And I believe that he will be a very good basketball player. I anticipate that he will be a great asset for the Brooklyn organization.”
So, what does that mean for the Nets? They currently sit 11th in the Eastern Conference, and if they want to match the New York Knicks, they have to win their final four games to make the playoffs. The Brooklyn team, currently tied with the Detroit Pistons, could lose more than half of its games with Irving off the court.
The Nets, however, have won five of their last six games. They had lost 11 of 11 before the All
