Kyrie Irving has been labeled as a difficult teammate in the recent past. Rumblings among NBA agents indicate that Irving is not fully focussed on basketball any more.
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Kyrie Irving has been sidelined with injury for most of his tenure with the Nets. He signed a max contract with the team last summer to join Kevin Durant in their ranks.
Irving is among the most scintillating talents to watch in basketball when he’s on his game. The point guard has all the tools in his scoring skillset and is virtually un-guardable.
Why NBA agents believe Kyrie Irving is distracted from basketball
A couple of agents were interviewed by the Athletic recently. They were asked how good the chances of Nets making the Finals are. Judging from their words, they did not trust Kyrie to perform at all. One agent came up with the following rationale:
“No. No. Hell no. You’re banking on the highest level of volatility. It’s an impossibility. Kevin Durant is probably the best player in the NBA but Kyrie Irving is a total loose cannon and he’s not doing anything to show us anything but that right now. That’s going to be difficult.”
“I hate to comment on people I don’t really know, but Kyrie is entering his Stephon Marbury phase. You can see it. It’s there. Basketball is not a priority for him.”
“The Nets have Kevin Durant recovering from an Achilles injury, Kyrie Irving recovering from a shoulder injury, and 15 other players recovering from spending a year with Kyrie Irving.”
– Via @johnhollinger on the Nets, Kyrie, and KD. 👀 pic.twitter.com/y5CS7Fd2fC
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 22, 2020
John Hollinger’s statement comes out of the left field considering what Caris LeVert has to say. LeVert called Kyrie ‘the best teammate he’s ever had’.
Even with all the feuding and underperformance from the 2018-19 season, Irving is still loved by former teammates Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward. In all probability, this talk is some smoke being blown in the air by agents to stay relevant and make headlines.
