NBA Rumors: Kyrie Irving could leave the Nets out of spite

It’s been a while since we last talked about Kyrie Irving for how good he was. As talented as he is, he only makes the news for all the drama around him, and that’s far from what the Brooklyn Nets are looking for right now.

The Nets want players who are committed to their project, the organization and winning. Irving helps them in that regard when he’s on the floor, but that hasn’t happened as often as they wanted.

Now, Irving is eligible to sign a max contract extension,and the Nets are understandably hesitant about doing so. That’s why Skip Bayless believes he could force his way out and continue imploding the franchise from within.

Skip Bayless Says Kyrie Irving Could Leave The Nets Out Of Spite

“All I know for sure is that, according to multiple reports, they’re not happy with Kyrie Irving,” Bayless said. “The strongest report said that they are outright unwilling to give Kyrie a long-term extension. Well, surely that has gotten back to Kyrie. Surely, he is well aware of that. He’s a very proud young man. So, it’s possible that in the next month he’ll just say, ‘Heck with you I’m out,’ because he can opt outright, become an unrestricted free agent within the next month. Would he do that? Well, knowing Kyrie it’s possible he would do that just because he’s offended by the way he was treated last year.”

Bayless added that Kevin Durant has never had an issue with Kyrie’s status as a part-time player. With that in mind, Kyrie could simply decide to walk away from the team if they don’t offer him a max extension:

“I remind you, there was a flashpoint when they finally sent Kyrie home, and his best buddy, Kevin Durant, signed off on it, he blessed it. He said, ‘Yep, let’s go forward without it.’ Not until later in the season,” Bayless added. “Did they crawl back to Kyrie as they were teetering and starting to lose? So, I believe, bottom line, Kyrie’s decision to not get vaccinated wrecked that team last year in many ways, but it wrecked James Harden. He’s out. KD, he seemed half-hearted about the rest of the season. They never got their legs back underneath them. They had other issues going on, but Kyrie was the issue.”

“And it sounded like it went all the way to the top to the owner, that they are close to being done with Kyrie, and I don’t think they’d be really unhappy if he opted out and hit the free agency,” Bayless added.

From a basketball standpoint, signing Kyrie to a max deal is a no-brainer. He’s one of the most gifted ball-handlers and scorers ever. But he’s proven that he cannot be trusted, so the Nets are in a huge predicament right now.