Once again, Kyrie Irving has managed to make it all about himself. He decided not to show up to a Brooklyn Nets game immediately after the storming of the Capitol, claiming that he ‘just didn’t want to play’.
People assumed that Kyrie’s decision was prompted bythe political uproar in America, understood him, and even supported him. A couple of days later, when he was ‘off the grid’ and out for ‘personal reasons’, some videos of him partying in Toronto surfaced.
The Brooklyn Nets reportedly don’t have a clue as to why, when, or if Kyrie Irving is going to report to the team again, and, clearly, he’s going to have to miss even more time in quarantine due to the NBA’shealth and safety protocols.
Kyrie Irving Could Sit Out The Season For Undisclosed Reasons
That’s why, according to insider Jason Dumas, the Brooklyn Nets were eager to trade for James Harden now more than ever, as the word around the league is that Irving is considering sitting out the season for undisclosed reasons:
“The Brooklyn Nets were always interested in acquiring James Harden but the deal became imperative in light of the situation with Kyrie Irving. Kyrie is willing to sit out the year if need be those close to him are saying,” Dumas reported.
Stephen A. Smith Calls Out Kyrie, Tells Him To Retire
Needless to say, this report rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith even went as far as to tell Kyrie to just retire already because, clearly, basketball wasn’t a priority for him right now:
“Let me say this straight-up and down. I think Kyrie Irving should retire; I think he should announce his retirement today,” Smith said. “Clearly, you don’t want to play basketball bad enough. Now, you may still want to get the 32.4 million dollars, obviously (…)Kyrie Irving has no prioritized basketball. I’m not saying that he doesn’t want to play altogether. I’m saying that he hasn’t prioritized it. And how fair is it that to the Brooklyn Nets? How fair is that to Sean Marks? How far is that to Steve Nash – a coach that he endorsed bringing up on board, a coach that he wanted, that he fully supported. How far is that to his brother, Kevin Durant?” Stephen A. concluded.
Kyrie Irving May Have Predicted His Own Early Retirement
Little did Stephen A. Smith know that Kyrie may have actually predicted his early retirement two years ago in an interview with Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson. Back then, he said that he could walk out at 29:
“One of my best friends told me that he really thinks that I may become the Lauryn Hill of the NBA and just leave early before I even get to my prime. (…)I don’t know if it’s gonna happen. I’m 25, so by the time I get to 10 years in the league, I’ll be 29,” Kyrie said.
Well, Kyrie is just a couple of months away from turning 29 and he may think that the Nets don’t need him anymore with Harden in town. Perhaps he’s going to pull a Barry Sanders and call it quits earlier than expected.
