ESPN: Kyrie Irving should never get another long-term deal

The Brooklyn Nets have once again been one of the biggest disappointments in the NBA. This time, injuries had nothing to do with it. It was all Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving getting outplayed and outhustled.

The Boston Celtics have been far superior in nearly everything. Moreover, both KD and Kyrie have looked distant and their body language is off. Needless to say, people have called them out left and right for this failure.

Per Irving, it has everything to do with chemistry and how the team didn’t have enough time to get ready. Ironically, it was Irving the one who decided not to play as he protested NYC’s vaccine mandate.

Kyrie Irving Says Nets Haven’t ‘Gelled’

“We’re just in a new experience as a group and we just got to respect that and just bring everything we can to this next game and just do one possession at a time,”Irving said. “I don’t want to be too cliché, but I don’t have a lot of answers from how you make up time from October until now when usually teams would be jelling and things would be feeling good.”

Stephen A. Smith Says Kyrie Irving Is A Professional At Missing Work

Irving’s words didn’t sit well around the NBA. He was the one who refused to play, so he’s not who you want to hear talking about not having enough time playing together. That’s why Stephen A. Smith claimed that he’s untrustworthy and undeserving of a long-term deal:

“Kyrie Irving is box office, this brother deserves $50 million a year. I would never give him a long-term contract again. He cannot be trusted,” Smith said.“You pay him one year at a time. I don’t care how much money he gets, you pay him on year at a time. You know why? Cuz you gotta make sure he shows up to work.”

“This man has played in 11 seasons in this NBA,” Smith added. “He has played over 60 games 4 times and there’s 82 games in the season. He is one of the absolute professionals at missing work. I’m not giving him a long-term deal, you got to be crazy.”

All things considered, Irving isindeed a showstopper. But he’s found little-to-no playoff success since leaving Cleveland and one can only wonder if all the off-court antics are worth watching him pull the ball on a string in those few moments he’s available to play.