"A lot of people don't realize from the outside that a lot of things that are said get into locker rooms," Irving told ESPN's Rachel Nichols nearly three weeks after that statement. "A lot of things that are put in headlines get into locker rooms. Media has broken up locker rooms. It's been done before. You say something and it's misinterpreted and instead of addressing it with the person or individual, like human interaction, you read it on your phone.”

The Knicks have been widely speculated as a destination for Irving given their two max-contract slots and his friendship with Kevin Durant, another likely Knicks target.

Brooklyn appears an awkward fit on several levels. The Nets have good guard depth with Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert. Their focus in free agency likely will (and should) be on adding better pieces to their wing; if anything, they should be the ones focused on landing Durant.

There is also little reason for Irving to leave Boston for Brooklyn. The Knicks make tangible sense because a Durant-Irving pairing would make the Knicks competitors in the East. Even with the Nets being a well-run organization, a Boston-to-Brooklyn move probably does nothing but put Irving in a worse spot for a less glamorous NBA franchise.