Jan 25, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving warms up before a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
NBA: Brooklyn Nets at Philadelphia 76ers
(New York, NY) — I’ve always been a Kyrie Irving hater. I’m just going to come out and say it.
One of the most brilliant offensive players ever who, by all accounts, is a genuinely good person deep down, frustrates me to no end. He’s not just a locker room cancer; he’s a locker room abomination, and it’s a shame because he bounces FROM locker room to locker room.
Ever since he left LeBron James, the only player in the NBA who knew how to use Irving correctly with relation to himself, Irving has been a one-man circus of drama and failure: the Celtics went farther without him than with him, the Nets imploded, and the Mavs got worse after trading for him.
And now he’s taking a meeting…with the PHOENIX SUNS?
Now, this is awakening my inner Kevin Durant hater (he’s the most overrated player in NBA history), but I’ll keep him at bay for now.
Bleacher Report and TNT’s Chris Haynes reported that the Suns are to meet with Kyrie Irving in LA when NBA free agency begins Friday. Additionally, Irving will meet with the Mavericks (his current team) and maybe the Houston Rockets. Irving also previously said he wants his next team to be a “home.”
My guy, you’re a homewrecker.
In one of the most surprising trade requests in NBA history, after thrice making the Finals, he wanted out of Cleveland. After saying he wanted to resign with Boston, he didn’t. After promising to ride it out with Durant in Brooklyn, he didn’t. It stands to reason his loyalty to Dallas is nonexistent.
Irving is out of his mind if he thinks the suns will accept him and his baggage (remember his anti-Semitic posts? Remember when that was the worst thing an NBA player did on social?) while giving him the money he wants. Unless a magical sign-and-trade with Ayton happens and the Suns are cool with turning their already-nonexistent bench into an NBA-minimum platoon, this is a pipe dream. Reporting suggests that Dallas is the only team well-positioned to compete for Irving’s services.
Notice how I didn’t even say “well of course he would want to play with Beal, Booker, and KD.” Think about Irving’s past moves. He’s wanted to carve his own path, but all of a sudden he wants to join the Justice League? Of all of those guys, he has the least to prove: he won a ring as arguably the greatest second option in a Finals series since Kobe. Hell, Durant has two rings and many (myself included) would argue he still has not proven can be in the same breath as LeBron or Jordan when it comes to being “the guy.” Irving is never going to be “the guy.” He’s competing to be the best Robin ever and as far as I’m concerned he and Kobe are dominating that conversation. If he wants to be “the man,” have fun leading Houston to 24 wins. They’ll be the only team that trusts him.
Should Kyrie Irving “shut up and dribble?” Absolutely not. He can say and do as he pleases off the court. My issue with him is that he has consistently failed to live up to his potential. We see glimmers of absolute wizardry mixed with the sheer volume of games he has not played for self-inflicted reasons. If I were him, I would get my bag in Dallas and work like a madman in the offseason with Luka to make this makeshift Mavericks team work. I wouldn’t entertain superteam fantasies.
