Kyrie, Nets each fined $25G over statement stunt

Kyrie Irving likely won’t be avoiding the media for much longer.

Irving and the Nets were fined $25,000 each for violating the NBA’s media access rules, the league announced Thursday.

“The fines result from Irving’s refusal on several occasions this week to participate in team media availability,” the NBA said in a release.

Irving, 28, declined to speak with reporters last week, when the Nets opened up training camp, and has yet to address reporters — aside from a written statement he released through a publicist last Friday.

“Instead of speaking to the media today, I am issuing this statement to ensure that my message is conveyed properly,” Irving said in his statement. “I am committed to show up to work everyday, ready to have fun, compete, perform, and win championships alongside my teammates and colleagues in the Nets organization. My goal this season is to let my work on and off the court speak for itself.”

Irving appeared in just 20 games during an injurymarred 2019-20 NBA season, his first with the Nets. With Kevin Durant recovered from an Achilles tear that cost him all of last season, the Nets will finally have their star pair on the court together when the season commences on Dec. 22.

➤ While most NBA coaches are aiming to get used to working in empty arenas, Nets head coach Steve Nash will simply be getting used to sitting in the coach’s seat.

“Coaching with or without fans will be different for me, at this point. I’m pretty green,” he said on a Zoom call Thursday. “Obviously, I have a lot of history and experience with the game and the league, but actually sitting in that seat is going to take a little bit of time to get used to it, whether there’s fans or no fans.”

Nash has already stressed that the Nets will have to be fluid and be able to adapt under the uncertain circumstances the COVID-19 pandemic brings. But the first-year head coach acknowledged that teams likely learned a lot from this past season’s bubble, where NBA players competed in front of no fans for the first time in their careers.

Asked if coaching in an empty arena would influence his approach to defense, Nash noted that teams in the bubble quickly realized that everyone can hear everything from each bench.

“It had a big impact defensively on a lot of teams,” he said. “That’s the word that I’m hearing.”