Kyrie Irving confirmed he will remain with the Brooklyn Nets after a disappointing first-round 4-0 sweep against the Boston Celtics.
Irving scored 20 points with five rebounds and five assists in the decisive 116-112 Game 4 loss on Monday.
The mercurial guard has a player option in his contract for the 2022-23 season, which means he can decide whether to stay for the $36million he has agreed to, or he could void the last year and enter negotiations for a long-term deal with the Nets, or any other team with cap space.
When asked in his post-game press conference, Irving said: "I don't really plan on going anywhere."
He later took it even further as he spoke about rebuilding the team through his "co-management relationship" with the Nets front office.
"I don't really plan on going anywhere – this is added motivation for our franchise to be at the top of the league for the next few years," he said.
"When I say I'm here with 'Kev' [Kevin Durant], I think that it really entails us managing this franchise together alongside [owner] Joe [Tsai] and [general manager] Sean [Marks], and just our group of family members that we have in our locker room and our organisation.
"I think we've just got to make some moves this offseason – and really talk about, and really be intentional about, what we're building.
"We'll just have fun building it, having that creative process. It's a co-management relationship, and you see that the players need to gel. You can't have these little lulls of uncertainty… [we have to] be intentional about who's in our locker room, and how we're going to be leading.
"There's no question about where I'm going, or how this is going to happen. I'm here with [Durant], but also I'm here to build a great team.
"Individually I've been recognised for my greatness, but at this point in my career I really just want to be part of a great team, and dominate that way, without focusing on any individual accolades or achievements. Just really build something special."
When discussing how he felt about the outcome of the season, Irving said he would use it as fuel, but admitted there were points in the season that he felt he was letting down his teammates.
"Just disappointment, sadness. But more importantly, on the positive side, it's motivation," he said. "It's burning in my heart right now.
"I know so many people wanted to see us fail at this juncture… and have so much to say at this point, so I'm just using that as fuel for the summer.
"I think it was just really heavy emotionally this season. We all felt it.
"I felt like I was letting the team down at a point where I wasn't able to play. We were trying to exercise every option for me to play, but I never wanted it to just be about me. I think it became a distraction at times."
Irving was unavailable for home games until late March due to his refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination.
He added: "We just had some drastic changes. We lost a franchise player – and we got a franchise player back – but we didn't get a chance to see him on the floor."
Irving discussed issues such as allowing outside noise to seep into the locker room and repeated calls for more mental toughness, but he made sure to support embattled All-Star Ben Simmons. Simmons did not make his Nets debut in Game 4, as had been initially anticipated, as he battles to overcome a back problem.
"There was no pressure for [Simmons] to step on the floor with us, either," Irving said. "Ben's good, we have his back, and he's going to be good for next year.
"But now we just turn the page, and look forward to what we're building as a franchise, and really get tougher.
"This is a league that's getting younger, it's getting more athletic, it's getting taller, and more competitive. These young guys are hungry out here. You see it, I could feel it, so it's added motivation when you get swept like this.
"Now we just look to the future as a team and what we can accomplish for the next few years – and I get excited about that."
Williamson out for Pelicans’ do-or-die play-in tournament game due to hamstring injury
The New Orleans Pelicans will be without injured leading scorer Zion Williamson when they host the Sacramento Kings in Friday’s Western Conference play-in tournament elimination game.
Williamson starred in his NBA postseason debut Tuesday, scoring 40 points while adding 11 rebounds and five assists in over 36 minutes of action against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The two-time All-Star, though, missed the final three minutes of New Orleans’ 110-106 loss after injuring his left hamstring.
Williamson tied the game at 95 with 3:19 remaining in the fourth quarter on a driving layup, but he left shortly after and headed to the Pelicans’ locker room.
His huge performance caught the attention of Lakers superstar LeBron James.
“He's a generational player, a generational talent. He's going to continue to get better and better,” James said. “Tonight was just a small microcosm of how great he can be, his ability to get downhill, finish vs. smalls, finish vs. bigs, taller guys, shorter guys, doesn't matter.
“One thing about him, he's not afraid to compete. So, that's a great thing. He's a star.”
Williamson missed plenty of time due to various injuries in his first four seasons after New Orleans selected him No. 1 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, but he was healthy throughout the 2023-24 campaign.
Williamson appeared in a career-high 70 contests and led the Pelicans with 22.9 points per game while averaging 5.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
The winner of Friday’s matchup between New Orleans and Sacramento will capture the No. 8 seed in the West and move on to play the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs.
Stephen Curry included in star-studded USA basketball squad for Paris Olympics
Stephen Curry is set to make his Olympic debut for the United States at the age of 36 after being named in the 12-strong men’s basketball squad for Paris on Wednesday.
The Golden State Warriors guard joins three-time Olympic champion Kevin Durant and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer LeBron James in an experienced squad named by national team managing director Grant Hill.
Durant, 35, helped Team USA to gold at each of the last three Olympics, while Los Angeles Lakers forward James, 39, will make his first appearance since London 2012, having also won gold in Beijing in 2008 and bronze in Athens in 2004.
Besides the Phoenix Suns’ Durant, four other members of the Tokyo squad return with Miami Heat centre Bam Adebayo, Phoenix guard Devin Booker, guard Jrue Holiday and forward Jayson Tatum – both of the Boston Celtics – included.
Los Angeles Lakers centre Anthony Davis will, like James, make his first Olympic appearance since London 2012.
Making their debuts on the biggest international stage alongside Curry will be Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Anthony Edwards, Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player.
The United States have won gold at each of the last four Olympics and 16 in all, but finished a disappointing fourth at last year’s World Cup.
Curry’s Golden State coach Steve Kerr will lead the team in Paris.
The United States are due to start a training camp in Las Vegas on July 6 before a series of exhibition games that includes tilts against South Sudan and Germany on July 20 and 22 in London. Their opening game in Paris will be against Serbia on July 28.
Lakers must play 'mistake-free basketball' against Nuggets, warns James
LeBron James has warned the Los Angeles Lakers must play "mistake-free basketball" if they are to overcome the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 110-106 on Tuesday, meaning they progress to the first round of the playoffs.
A series against the reigning NBA champions awaits, starting on Saturday.
And James, who finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, knows the Lakers will have to deliver a near-perfect performance.
"It's the defending champion," James said.
"They know what it takes. They know how to win. They've been extremely dominant on their home floor over the last few years.
"They've got an MVP on their team. They've got a closer on their team. They've got high-level players, high-IQ players, and they've got a hell of a coach.
"So, we have to play mistake-free basketball. Make it tough on them. They're going to try to make it tough on us, obviously.
"But if we can play as great of a game as we can play, and they're going to play as great of a game as they play, it's going come down to one or two possessions. We'll see who executes then."
It was put to Lakers coach Darvin Ham that there had been reports the Lakers might throw their game against the Pelicans in order to go up against either the Sacramento Kings or the Golden State Warriors in the other play-in game.
The Kings ultimately won, and will now face the Pelicans, with the prize a matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Western Conference's No.1 seed.
"There was a report of what?" an incredulous Ham said. "Insane asylum sources say?"
The Lakers reached the Conference Finals last year, and Anthony Davis is confident Los Angeles are coming into their best form at the opportune moment.
"I think we're clicking at the right time," Davis said.
"Guys are playing well. Guys are very confident. Guys are feeling good. And we're going to need it, especially against Denver."
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