On Monday, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium dropped a bombshell reporting that Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets are at an impasse about his future in Brooklyn. This means the seven-time All-Star could end up on the open market. Charania said the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks are expected to emerge as potential suitors.
Sources: Kyrie Irving, Nets are at impasse in conversations about his future in Brooklyn, clearing way for the seven-time All-Star to consider the open market. Lakers and Knicks expected to emerge among potential suitors.
Inside Pass at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/VbOOtrzdTB
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 20, 2022
No, thank you.
Yes, Irving is otherworldly. Yes, Irving should be in the NBA 75. Yes, Irving is must-watch television. Yes, Irving could propel the Knicks to another level along with RJ Barrett.
But ask yourselves and think long and hard. Is Kyrie Irving worth the headache? Ask Nets fans if they think acquiring Irving was worth it. If they said “yes, he was worth it” then they are liars and you should disassociate yourself from them.
Irving has proved time and time again that he will flake out. He will leave his teammates hanging because he is a selfish me, me, me basketball player. He claims he and Kevin Durant are buddy buddy and that’s why they decided to team up in Brooklyn, but Irving left Durant out to dry time and time again. Over three years, Durant and Irving took the court together 44 times.
It’s clear that basketball is not his top priority. He’d rather fight for equality for his fellow African-Americans, which deserves a reverberating standing ovation. But, he will take breaks from playing and then not be 100% clear with fans as to why he isn’t playing. Fans will always deserve an explanation, no matter how much Irving says he doesn’t need to explain himself to anyone. Without fans, there is no National Basketball Association.
How do we know Irving won’t take an extended break from basketball the next time an unarmed African-American gets murdered at the hands of a white police officer? Given the history of the United States, it’s bound to happen again.
Moving on from that, Irving would be playing under the brightest spotlight he has ever stepped into. Irving and Durant strategically decided to play for the Nets knowing that the media and the city would not care if they failed, ducking the bright lights. They claim that “playing at Madison Square Garden isn’t cool” or “playing for the Knicks isn’t cool” but everyone saw right through them. They wanted to avoid the scrutiny that comes with being a Knick.
Look at where Irving has played dating back to college. Irving went to Duke for a cup of coffee. He played 11 games for one of the biggest basketball schools in the world and couldn’t carry his team past the Sweet Sixteen. He was drafted by the Cavaliers and the team was absolutely awful, but no one cared. It wasn’t until LeBron James returned to Cleveland for people to bat an eye at Northeast Ohio. James was the one who carried the Cavaliers to a title that year. One clutch shot by Irving does not negate the fact that James was the one why the Cavs won the title.
Upset that he wasn’t the guy, he ran away from Cleveland and fled to Boston. The Celtics is the most storied franchise Irving has ever played with. With a ton of banners at TD Garden, Irving couldn’t handle the Bostonian pressure. That green Celtics jersey is heavy with a ton of expectations, especially when you’re running next to Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. He was unable to get it done in Boston and quit after two seasons, which worked out for Brown, Tatum and the city of Boston considering the Celtics are the Eastern Conference Champions.
He ran away from Boston to go to Brooklyn, ducking the bright lights of Manhattan. After a combination of injuries, a global pandemic, vaccination mandates and more failures without the help of James, Irving is running away again.
His track record shows he runs away from the spotlight. Once things go south if he becomes a Knick (or a Laker), he will look for the first exit.
Lastly, and perhaps the laziest fact, but it’s still fact, Irving’s body is starting to fail on him. In 2015, he needed surgery on his kneecap. In 2018, a minimally-invasive procedure suddenly became a season-ending injury. In 2019, he needed season-ending shoulder surgery. In 2021, he suffered an ankle sprain in the playoffs.
The Knicks are infamous for making horrid decisions, particularly over the past 22 years. An acquisition for Kyrie Irving would simply add to a laundry list of awful decisions. Have him go out west and crumble under the LA sun with James. He needs to be LeBron’s problem, not the Knicks’.
