Kyrie Irving on whether he’ll return by the playoffs: “Don’t hold your breath on that. You know what I’m saying? That doesn’t mean I won’t be back, it’s just—I don’t want to make any predictions on when I’m going to be back. I just want to be back 150,000% better. So I’m taking my time right now to really get healthy. I’m taking my time to get my body right—other portions of my body right—and really just enjoy this recovery process. Man, it’s not pretty. Yes, it is a beautiful struggle, but I go through kind of the mental roller coaster ride of every day. I just want to be back out there.”

Kyrie Irving: Nerves? I still do get nervous, right? But it’s not uncontrollable nerves now. I know how to settle myself down and regulate my nervous system. Regulating your nervous system starts with breathing through struggle, with breathing through what’s happening internally. Obviously, it’s a lot more to it than just breathing, but as someone who’s dealt with anxiety, who deals with PTSD, and who has been able to be transparent about where I am mentally, spiritually, emotionally—yeah, I still get nervous. But being judged is truly an honor. Being judged for who you are—it’s an honor. Now, it’s up to you whether or not you pay attention to those judgments. But with all the mental stuff people go through, I’ve learned to expand and focus on what I can control in the moment—to be better, rather than afraid of being uncomfortable or facing confrontation.”

“So, next up on the list: the Knicks made a mistake by getting rid of Tom Thibodeau.” Stan Van Gundy “Yeah, they totally did. That was a big mistake. Tom Thibodeau—one of the best coaches in this league—did an unbelievable job with that team this year. Maximized virtually everyone on their roster. I mean, OG Anunoby—best year of his career. Karl-Anthony Towns—probably the best year of his career. Jalen Brunson, a guy who was what, a 15–16 point-a-game scorer in Dallas, has become a star. Josh Hart went from a backup to a triple-double-type of guy in New York. I mean, he just maximized this roster and took them places they hadn’t been in a quarter of a century. And they make a coaching change? Made absolutely no sense to me.”

“LeBron’s gotten a little hate for a long time for a lot of different things,” Van Gundy said after Samson noted James has been criticized for taking his full player option with the Los Angeles Lakers. “Whether it was his decision to come to Miami that he announced on TV, whether it was bumping into Eric Spoelstra. Whatever it is, LeBron’s gotten a lot of hate for a guy who’s had the best career of any NBA player, ever. And we can argue who the best player has been in the NBA, but it’s hard to argue that anyone’s had a better career. “The most amazing thing to me is, this guy has been a national figure since he’s been in eighth grade, what’s the biggest off-court controversy you’ve got on this guy? This guy has done nothing except represent the game of basketball and the league well. And yet, there’s this hate for him,” Van Gundy continued. “I have never understood the negativity around him. I think a lot of it was there’s so many people out there who just revered Michael Jordan and the fact that people would question, ‘Is LeBron as good?’ led to a hatred of LeBron instead of an appreciation of what he’s done. And I think that’s unfortunate.”