Super excited and grateful
for the opportunity. I really
feel wanted and and I know that they had
to give up some pieces for me to get here,
so I don't take that for granted.
Shout out to Mr. Cuban. Shout the whole
entire front office at the Dallas
organization. You know,
I've been here for about 48 hours
or a little bit more than that,
and it's been nothing but a
warm embrace and nothing but
genuine love. So I'm just taking
it one minute at a time and.
Just focus on what I can control which
is how I prepare and I just come in
every single day and be consistent.
Yeah, I think I'm
gonna use this opportunity to
just talk about the business
that we're in. It's, it's.
As a player it's very emotional because
you build lifelong relationships and
you wanna hold on to them and it's
a brotherhood, it's a sisterhood.
We all love each other and
and unconditional ways when we
want to see each other do well.
So you know the reporting and and
the journalism that was going to
come out of why I left I I knew
that was going to be speculation.
Um, you know, but for me personally,
you know, just sitting in the seat today,
I I just know I wanna be places where I'm
celebrated and not just tolerated or or.
Or just, you know,
kind of dealt with in a way that
doesn't make me feel respected.
And there were times throughout
this process when I was in Brooklyn
where I felt very disrespected.
And my talent,
I work extremely hard at what I do.
No one ever talks about my work ethic,
though.
Everyone talks about what
I'm doing off the floor.
So I just want to change that narrative,
write my own story and just
continue preparing the gym.
And now that I'm in Dallas,
just focus on what I can control,
like I said.
And, you know,
I'm always going to be close
with those guys in Brooklyn,
just like I'm close with the
guys in Boston because I'm
close to guys in Cleveland.
You know, it is a team competitive sport,
but we care about each other's
families way more off the court.
So I know those the
relationships will extend off.
I'm just focused on preparing to win.
I think that's another day where I
could really go into detail about it.
I'm not the person to really speak on
names and go to someone behind their back
and and try to leak stuff to the media.
That's never been me.
Now I've been an audience member of
watching people say things about me that.
Untimately just fall off my shoulder.
I'm really in a place.
That I'm grateful that I gotta grow,
I got to grow into.
I mean, we could sit here all day, man.
I think we should.
We probably could go through
the timeline of all the reports
since I first came into Brooklyn.
But the greatest lesson I could share
with you that I learned from signing
in Brooklyn for free agency is I
wish I would have got to know the
people that were behind the organization.
I went in there and was just a kid
with a dream on my mind with KD.
And, you know,
we wanted to bring a championship
to a young organization.
They were only around for six years.
I grew up in New Jersey.
Nets fan. It's in my blood.
You know,
I cheer for them.
But when things start to change
and you're not getting transparency
and honesty from people in the
front office or people around you,
I mean,
I don't know what person feels comfortable
or confident in that type of environment.
And again, I don't want to go
into too many details because.
Is, is is water under bridge
now like I wish them well.
I left them in fourth place.
I did what I was supposed to do.
I text Luke, he text me.
So just waiting to see him in person.
I don't really do the phone calls
and text messages that this bogus.
I like eye to eye contact and me
and people and embracing them in
a in a different type of way and
it's just more human that way.
More real. I mean,
obviously he wished things
could have gone differently.
You know we we came together
in about 2018 nineteen kind of
when that finals happened and.
We aren't coming together to
plan what team we were going to,
but we just had goals together
and it wasn't just as a duo.
We we were seeing ourselves as
servants and culture that we
wanted to teach the youngins.
And if we got some young guys
that were willing to sacrifice
and buy into what we got going on,
then we were going to flourish we felt.
But it just didn't work out and
we still remain brothers.
But it is a business at the end of the day,
as we always say,
and I gotta lookout for my family.
And ultimately,
I want to be at peace every time
I come into work,
rather than things hanging over
my head or wondering what people
think about me in the building or
whether or not a report's going to
come out tomorrow that I don't talk
to my teammates, which is untrue.
And then, you know,
I just felt like being in New York
City and the media capital of the world,
there was so many things that
leaked out that I don't even
know where they came from.
And I'm answering things
that I don't deserve.
And ultimately,
I don't pay attention to that much.
So I'm just grateful that
got to move on now here.
Yeah,
I delete a lot of things on my Instagram.
You know,
I've I've had things that have
happened before in my life,
probably not as drastic as that moment,
which led to a lot of confusion,
uncertainty I felt like,
and what I meant and what I stand for.
And I had to sit up in these
mics and explain to the world
who I am when I know who I am.
So, you know, I delete things all the time,
and it's no disrespect to
anyone within the community,
just living my life.