“Kyrie Irving ruined the Nets” Stephen A. Smith makes bold claim stating Kyrie Irving badly wants to be a Laker in the 2022-23 season
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Stephen A. Smith, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving is witnessing the Avengers of Brooklyn falling apart under his nose, as the city is in shambles after Kevin Durant’s trade request away from Brooklyn has made Stephen A Smith believe that Kyrie Irving is the one to blame for this pandemonium. The Brooklyn Nets had one of the most nightmarish seasons, with catastrophes on and off the court, as the Nets were swept off their feet by the Boston Celtics in the first round of playoffs, concluding their disappointing season and a disastrous postseason, far below preseason hopes and expectations.
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have been at the fore of that disappointment and mockery, the star leaders of a club, that on paper could have reached The Finals. Last January, the Nets brought James Harden to the already existing duo of Kyrie Irving and KD. This year, they were forced to trade him, as they plummeted from the #2 seed to barely getting a play-in spot, and got swept in the first round. All this has led to people questioning the future for the Brooklyn duo, and its doesn’t seem so bright, as Kevin Durant is asking for a trade and Kyrie Irving inching closer to the Lakers.
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“I feel that all of this is his doing” – Stephen A Smith blames Kyrie Irving and his bad attitude as the root for the recent chaos at Nets
This offseason is proving to be a wild ride already, with Kyrie decided to opt into his $36.5 million player option for the 2022-23 season, thus delaying his free agency for another year. However, his teammate and supposedly good friend Kevin Durant is already looking for other options. Kyrie Irving has been the most trolled and criticized player throughout the season. Ever since the 2021-22 season began, Stephen A. Smith’s criticism or opinion over Kyrie Irving hasn’t stopped or halted and it wont anytime soon.
During an appearance on ESPN’s NBA Today, Stephen A. Smith consistently criticized Nets guard Kyrie Irving for his unavailability this season and this was no different.
“I feel like Kyrie Irving ruined the franchise,” Smith said. “I feel that all of this is his doing. If Kyrie Irving had shown up to work and he had been a more consistent presence, then he’d still be in Brooklyn, KD will still wanna be in Brooklyn. They probably might have won a championship or at least be knocking on the door again ’cause we all know Kyrie is a spectacular talent. I know he and everybody close to him wants to blame me, as if I’m the only one talking about him instead of the entire NBA community.”
The analyst claimed that no matter where Irving lands this offseason, his ultimate goal is to head to L.A. to team up with LeBron James again, this time on the Lakers. It is no secret that The Lakers, Knicks and Clippers are expected to be among the interested suitors if Irving heads elsewhere.
” He has been telling people he wants to be in LA,” Smith said. “He’s been telling people he wants to wear the same uniform Kobe Bryant once wore. If you’re a LeBron James, you certainly don’t mind that.”
Even while Kyrie Irving has decided to opt into his $36.5 million player option for the 2022-23 season, thus delaying his free agency for another year. Brooklyn has reportedly been unwilling to offer Irving a full max extension without financial concessions from Irving, like incentives or non-guaranteed years. However, he can still join the Lakers by opting out of the last year on his contract and signing for them through their $6 million taxpayer midlevel exception or picking up his player option and having L.A. and Brooklyn engineer a trade that would send him to California.
The Brooklyn Nets were thrown out of the NBA Playoffs by the Championship contending Boston Celtics, as they clean swept the Nets 4-0 in the series. Life has not been easy for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving ever since, as they have been under constant scrutiny from the media and the fans. Durant tried to form his own super team in Brooklyn but the plan hit a snag this season. The 33-year-old remained a remarkable offensive force but James Harden demanded out, Ben Simmons never played and Kyrie Irving refused a COVID-19 shot.
Irving and Durant joined the Nets during the summer of 2019, it’s been an era of disappointment and untapped potential thus far. The Big 3 of the Nets, consisting of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden played just 16 games together, making it hard to cash in fully on their names. Durant missed a quarter of this season due to a knee injury, Irving missed nearly two-thirds due to his refusal to get vaccinated, and Harden demanded a trade, one that brought back Ben Simmons, who still hasn’t played a game.
Kyrie Irving failed to lead the Brooklyn Nets past the first round of the playoffs this season. The whole scenario surrounding the team had been extremely upsetting considering the amount of the hype that was created on them making a title run once they had a full roster, but it was a complete hundred and eighty. The Nets are now at the risk of losing all of their ‘Big 3’ superstars, without even making the conference finals
It’s certainly a triple-double of problems, problems and more problems for the Nets as they face plenty of questions financially and technically. From figuring out a way for the team to get over the lows and win a championship, the team also has to take care of the business side and make sure they can continuously support the franchise financially to keep competing in the future. As for Kyrie and Stephen A Smith, their 1v1 duel continues into the postseason, however if Kyrie ends up on the Lakers or not remains to be seen.
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Aditya Minocha
(216 Articles Published)