Kyrie Irving doesn’t have to worry about free agency until next summer Donald Penn Jersey , though he’s got plenty to keep him busy for now.
There’s a movie to promote and a knee to mend. He hopes he’s good on screen, but wants to be better than ever on the court.
”Now becomes the real climb to Mount Everest, back to the top,” Irving said Monday. ”So I’m just taking my time.”
The Boston Celtics All-Star is hoping he can start playing again in a couple weeks. But he’s staying patient in his rehab from late-season surgery because of an infection in his knee, figuring the extra time can only help after he played deep into June the previous two years with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He was traded to the Celtics last summer while filming ”Uncle Drew.” The movie, in which he plays an old playground basketball legend who started as a character in Pepsi commercials, premieres in New York on Tuesday and opens nationwide Friday.
The Cavaliers gave Irving’s former jersey number to Collin Sexton, drafted last week with the No. 8 pick that Cleveland acquired from Boston in the trade. But Irving wasn’t upset, saying he already gave away the only Cavs’ No. 2 that matters to him – the one he wore while hitting the biggest shot in the franchise’s history.
That was on Father’s Day in 2016, the night Irving nailed the 3-pointer that helped the Cavaliers beat the Warriors in Game 7 of the NBA Finals for the franchise’s first championship.
”The history, it’s already captured, man,” Irving said. ”I was on one of the best teams in NBA history in my opinion, just accomplishing something that was that much bigger than ourselves. A feat that was, we’re one of no other teams. We’re like 1 of 1, in history. So for me, I think the biggest thing was giving that jersey to my dad Albert Wilson Jersey , and if that’s where the No. 2 legacy ends, then cool.”
Though Irving asked to be traded – a request LeBron James hoped the Cavs wouldn’t honor – he looks back fondly on his time in what’s now Sexton’s number.
”I gave a lot of commitment and sacrifice to being there from Day 1, so to have that six-year span of doing some unbelievable things, I’m definitely happy about it,” he said. ”I never shy away from that in terms of Cleveland giving me the opportunity to a 19-year-old kid of wearing No. 2. Now, it’s just a transition in the league.
”There’s no hard feelings from my end. But now he has to start from kind of the chopping block just like everyone else did, so I’m excited for him.”
And he’s excited for ”Uncle Drew,” in which Irving rounds up his old teammates to play in a tournament at New York’s Rucker Park. Shaquille O’Neal, Reggie Miller, Chris Webber and Nate Robinson star as his old running mates. They were on set with him when they started getting alerts that Irving had been traded.
”Once it happened, the dancing just got a little better,” Irving said.
Irving needed three hours of makeup daily to look like a senior citizen before the 14 hours a day of filming. He believes his love of basketball shows up through his role of wise old sage who hangs around the courts – though Irving himself hasn’t played on outdoor playgrounds in years.
His game is indoors now, and he plans on being back there this summer before dealing with his own free agency next summer.
”Not just the same way but also a lot better,” Irving said. ”That’s where the focus has to be. If you leave any room for doubt or uncertainly, I mean you might as well get out of the game.”
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Speaking for the first time at the Patriots’ minicamp, Tom Brady could have had plenty to talk about had he waited a few hours.
Instead, reports broke later Thursday that one of the New England quarterback’s favorite receivers Dion Dawkins Jersey , Julian Edelman, could be suspended for violating the league’s performance-enhancers policy.
Brady, who turns 41 on Aug. 3, said he never considered retirement during his time away from the team; he did not attend optional workouts. He was not available to address an ESPN report, using unnamed sources, that Edelman, who missed the 2017 season after tearing his right ACL in a preseason game in Detroit, is facing a four-game suspension.
Edelman was the last player on the field for practice and later could be seen having a long talk with Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
According to the report, the 32-year-old Edelman is appealing the suspension, saying he had passed ”hundreds of tests” in the past. If the suspension stands, he would miss a home game against Houston, at Jacksonville and Detroit, and home against Miami.
The league does not release information on suspensions until they are announced.
Edelman spoke Tuesday and was asked if it was difficult not to push himself to make a faster recovery.
”Yeah, I mean, everyone’s a competitor, so sometimes you’re your worst own enemy when you’re trying to do that,” he said. ”But it is what it is and there’s a big part of the process and I’ve got a lot of guys Sean Harlow Jersey , training staff helping me out – TB12 (Brady), all that stuff – to get to where I want to be.”
The Patriots’ wide receiver group had already taken on a new look minus Danny Amendola (free agent, Miami) and Brandin Cooks (traded to Arizona). The loss of Edelman would thin the position even more. Malcolm Mitchell, who also missed last season with knee surgery, has yet to return to the field.
The depth chart candidates without Edelman would have one proven veteran in Chris Hogan, plus Mitchell, Kenny Britt, Cordarrelle Patterson, Jordan Matthews, Phillip Dorsett, Riley McCarron, Braxton Berrios and Cody Hollister. Special teams captain Matthew Slater has also lined up at the position, and Patterson generally is a kick returner rather than a wideout.
Brady spoke for less than four minutes.
”It’s obviously important for everybody and our coaches do a great job of getting us ready,” he said. ”Just some personal reasons for me (skipping voluntary workouts), but I’m here now and focused on what I need to do, like I always am, and this year.”
Amid reports of a rift in the organization involving himself Ted Ginn Jr Jersey , coach Bill Belichick and Kraft, Brady said his relationship with Belichick is, ”great. We’ve always had a great relationship.”
”I’ve been here for a long time and I love this team and I love this organization and I love playing quarterback for him,” Brady added. ”I loved it last year and I’m having a lot of fun now, so that’s obviously what’s most important to me.”
He refused to speak about any possible reworking of his contract.
”I’ve never talked about my contract,” he said. ”I’ve never brought up money, I think for a lot of reasons that I’ve said over the years. Those things are personal.”
Brady labeled his offseason following the Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia as ”good.”
”I always try to figure out different things I need to do in the offseason to prepare myself and be the best I can be,” he said. ”Obviously, I evaluate last season and things I can do better. I don’t think this offseason was any different for me. I thought about the things I need to do and focused on those things so I can be the best I can be when training camp comes.”
NOTES: Red Sox vice president Tony La Russa was a visitor at camp. ”We’ve been friends for a long time. It’s always good to see Tony,” said Belichick. . TE Dwayne Allen was clearly hobbling after practice. . Belichick stepped in and was mad at his offense, ordering the group to run a lap around the field. Brady, who could be heard yelling an obscenity after the previous play, then hit Rob Gronkowski with the next pass. . Matthews dropped a long throw from Brady. . Thursday was the third and final day of the mandatory camp, with four optional days set for next week.
GermanForce
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13.09.2018 10:52
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