Kyrie Irving is a moron. I think that’s a great opener for another blog about the man who has given me so much content this year. I suppose I should thank him for that, but I think I’d rather never hear about him again. He may or may not think the earth is flat, sat out home games in Brooklyn due to his refusal of the COVID-19 vaccine, and has negative sentiments, to say the least, about Jewish people. The ladder caused even Nike, who have few moral standards, to cut ties with him. Perhaps we’ll see him on the doorstep of Skechers soon? In this episode of Real Housewives of the NBA, we discuss the newest piece of Irving drama.
Irving has once again asked out of Brooklyn. Source: Yahoo Sports
On Friday afternoon, a bombshell was dropped on the NBA world. Irving had requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, who are 4th in the Eastern Conference at the moment. The Nets had undergone turmoil earlier in the season (see: Irving, Kyrie) and fired their coach, Steve Nash, but turned things around and are playing much better. Irving’s superstar teammate, Kevin Durant, is currently injured but things were going pretty well for Brooklyn overall. Durant hadn’t attacked fans on Twitter in a while, Ben Simmons was playing poorly but staying out of the news cycle, and Irving hadn’t shared an antisemitic movie in over a month (progress). All that changed Friday.
Irving’s contract is up after this season, and he and Brooklyn had been in discussions over a new deal. He’s eligible to sign a 4-year deal worth just shy of $200 million, but Brooklyn may have some reservations about handing over that cash. Besides what I mentioned in the intro, Irving has also gone AWOL to celebrate his sister’s birthday (just ask your coach? cmon man) and at one point had a pregame habit of burning sage on the court. He’s missed plenty of games the last few years due to injury or personal reasons (lol) and just is not a reliable player at this point in his career.
According to Yahoo’s Chris Haynes, the Nets had some contract stipulations relating to winning a championship, which didn’t go over well with him and his team (his mother is his agent). Even opposing teams rumored to be interested in him, like the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks, are reportedly hesitant to give him a 2-year, $78.6 million extension he would be eligible for if traded.
Kyrie Irving’s camp did not negotiate after Brooklyn Nets presented an offer that was tied to team winning a championship, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport. Told the issue was not about money, and now it’s said he wouldn’t even stay if offered a full max contract.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 3, 2023
This isn’t even the first time Irving considered a trade in the last calendar year, as both he and Durant had explored their options last summer before opting to return. He’s forced his way out of Cleveland and Boston before, and any future team will be wary of him suddenly deciding he wants out because a coach mildly inconvenienced him.
The trade deadline is Thursday afternoon (probably when you read this), so we’ll see what happens, if anything. All I can hope is that something crazy happens for my next blog. Or, maybe, Irving falls off the “flat earth” and we never hear of him again.
EDIT: Kyrie was traded to the Dallas Mavericks after I wrote this post. I’m glad Luka Doncic will finally get some help but I foresee some side-eyes in the locker room. Also of note, Durant was traded to Phoenix a couple days after it was reported he was still committed to Brooklyn (post-Irving trade). The Nets blew it up.
I love your opening sentence in this post. It accurately sums up Irving’s actions, both past and present based on what you described. Honestly, all of your comments throughout the post made me laugh, especially the sarcastic “progress”. It’s quite obvious that Irving is someone who is difficult to work with if multiple NBA teams are hesitant to sign a deal with him. As your blog topic suggests, he seems like a childish drama queen who I personally would get annoyed with very quickly. I can’t wait to see what other craziness happens by the time our next passion blog post is due!
Like Emma said, what a hook! I love how I can read this first couple sentences of your posts and know exactly what is going on. I think that it is so interesting to know the back story on some of these players, as I feel like basketball in general tends to have some real house wives! After reading this, my suspicious have been confirmed. In my opinion, the NBA in particular has much more personality to it than any other sport, with the players attitude’s determining much of the career. Great work!