Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has been the talk of the NBA world after it was reported that he would opt-in to his player option. This came after reports that Irving was allowed to seek sign-and-trade options by the Nets, but those options seemingly fell apart and Irving will likely be on the Nets this upcoming season.
The Nets disappointed heavily this past season, losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Boston Celtics in four games.
It appears that there were more issues going on behind the scenes in Brooklyn.
NBA insider Brian Windhorst discussed the situation on Get Up, ESPN’s morning talk show, on Wednesday, saying that the issues surrounding Irving extend further than Kyrie’s unwillingness to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which caused him to miss a large portion of last season.
“[The Brooklyn Nets front office] made it clear the status quo from last season is not acceptable. And it wasn’t just about the vaccine mandate, it was about the way Kyrie Irving treated his teammates and coaches,” said Windhorst.
Windhorst added that the team will “renegotiate ” how the team operated last season, including Irving’s reported negative treatment of coaches and teammates, and that if that doesn’t go well, he could still be potentially traded at some point next year.
"[The Nets' front office] made it clear the status quo from last season is not acceptable. And it wasn't just about the vaccine mandate, it was about the way Kyrie Irving treated his teammates … his coaches."
👀 @WindhorstESPN pic.twitter.com/NgXWcH1Yp2
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) June 29, 2022
Many around the NBA world don’t see this situation between Kyrie and the Nets ending well.
https://twitter.com/rocc_da_luxx/status/1542168839730868226
It’s definitely not over don’t look for an happy ending here folks https://t.co/u07CJZmj5n
— Dev10 (@Dequon10) June 29, 2022
Kyrie will be traded. https://t.co/Brl1VbCNmL
— Babaylan (@amIBabaylan21) June 29, 2022
It’s unclear exactly what teammates Windhorst is referring to Irving treating badly, but his strained relationship with former teammate James Harden certainly seems to be a factor in the team trading him to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons.
The relationship between the Nets organization and Irving still seems to be tumultuous, and they will need to figure that out if they hope to reach their potential of being a top team in the NBA next year.
