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Kyrie Irving doubles down on Nets needs with ‘stay the f–k out’ stance

Kyrie Irving said what he said and he meant it.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since Wednesday’s loss in Philadelphia — where Irving caused a stir by saying the Nets have a “glaring” need for additional talent in order to become championship contenders — the star point guard doubled down on his controversial comments following practice on Friday.

“I’m going to continue to push, I’m going to continue to demand greatness out of myself and demand greatness out of my teammates and we go from there,” Irving said. “If it’s harsh as a leader or too much for anybody, if you’re not in our locker room, stay the f–k out. It’s as simple as that.”

However, Irving was well aware that his remarks were psychoanalyzed and raised several questions regarding his leadership on the team. So Irving made a point to reach out to Nets general manager Sean Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson, as well as his teammates, to ensure that everyone knew what he meant.





He even admitted that he could’ve gone about it in a different way.

“Probably after the Philly game, I could’ve reworded,” Irving said. “Said a few names so it didn’t feel like no one was getting underneath the bus, like I was not leaving anyone out. I get it. I get it. That is the position I’m in. I talked to the guys and made sure that this doesn’t divide our locker room and happen to have an emotional response.”

Irving’s evaluative comments came after the Nets’ ninth loss in their last 12 games. It was just the third game Irving played in since going down with a shoulder impingement in mid-November. It was a bold assessment from someone who had returned Sunday after not playing in nearly two months.





When The Post asked if his calling for roster improvements meant that he didn’t think the group he was playing with now could become a championship team, Irving said it was just about the current state of the organization.

“I think where we are right now in terms of what we expected — who signed here and how we signed everybody — there was a sense of we knew who was going to be on the team and we were going to have to wait a certain amount of time in order to get at a level,” Irving said. “With [Kevin Durant] out, now we have injuries going down, I go down for 26 games, [DeAndre Jordan] is now out, [Garrett Temple] is trying to get back, that is just the reality of where we are.





“In order to compete at the top of the Eastern Conference, let alone in the whole NBA, you know you need to have a great starting five that has great continuity and a great bench in order to compete in the playoffs. That is what it comes down to. That is basketball 101.”

According to Irving, the most important thing is that his teammates have faith in themselves and that he continues to instill confidence in the team as a whole. But he said he can’t do anything about what’s put out there into the media, except for try and be a “pillar” in the locker room.

“It’s not like I’m like an a–hole yelling at everybody in their locker all the time,” Irving said. “You hear all these stories. At the end of the day, my name was given to me by my grandfather, I’m very grateful. But it’s in a lot of people’s mouths all the time. It is what it is.





“I earned that respect in terms of how great I am as a player and there are still more goals I want to accomplish in this league and I can’t do it without improving an organization and winning a championship and that’s what it comes down to.”

The Nets have gone 1-2 since Irving returned to the lineup. Saturday’s game in Brooklyn against the Bucks, who lead the league with a 37-6 record, marks the halfway point of the Nets’ regular season. But with the Nets (18-22) sitting in the middle of the Eastern Conference, Irving’s assessment of needing more isn’t so farfetched.

“I do respect his opinion,” Atkinson said of Irving. “I will say that. We do talk about things internally. We talk about everything. So is that part of the conversation, sure sometimes it’s part of the conversation. I know the communication lines are open between me and him, me and Sean. We have great communication so we’ll continue to do that.”





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