Kyrie Irving – Brooklyn Nets
Kyrie Irving has had one eventful season that drama still seems to be attached to. In addition to sitting half the season due to New York City guidelines for unvaccinated athletes, Irving is still dealing with not being able to play in away games, which has really lessened the Nets’ chances to be special this year.
When he first joined the Brooklyn Nets in 2019, Kyrie Irving was very excited to team up with fellow All-Star Kevin Durant in search of multiple titles. However, things have not gone as planned for Irving and the Nets since both he and Durant joined the team in 2019 free agency.
Not only did their first season not go as planned because of injuries, but injuries played a role in last season as well, as the Nets’ new “Big 3” of James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant barely played with one another.
This season, tempers continued to grow within Brooklyn’s locker room, which led to James Harden ultimately being traded just 13 months after being acquired in one of the largest deals in NBA history.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Latest Surrounding Kyrie Irving And New York City Vaccine Mandate
Harden grew frustrated with the way things had gone in Brooklyn between injuries and Kyrie Irving not being able to play due to the vaccine mandate, but apparently Irving was not happy with Harden being on the team either.
According to The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, the tension between James Harden and Kyrie Irving had been growing ever since the former league MVP was traded to the Nets last season and the two All-Star guards never really saw eye-to-eye on things.
“Definitely a weird vibe between them,” one source told The Athletic. “You could tell Harden was annoyed, and Kyrie wasn’t feeling James.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Latest Surrounding Kyrie Irving And New York City Vaccine Mandate
With Harden now in Philadelphia though and the New York City mandates possibly changing by the end of the 2021-22 NBA season, Kyrie Irving could be more receptive to staying in Brooklyn long-term. After all, he wanted it to just be him and Kevin Durant in Brooklyn competing for titles and should he be able to play a full season with the Nets again, he may not want to go anywhere else.
The arrival of Ben Simmons could also encourage Kyrie Irving to sign a new long-term extension with the Nets, as Simmons does not take anything away from Kyrie’s abilities on the floor like Harden did.
It is very likely that if there is a new deal to be had, that it will get hammered out in the offseason, especially since Irving has a $36 million player option for the 2022-23 season.
