Kyrie Irving was speculated to leave the Dallas Mavericks this offseason. Of the teams being touted to land the shifty guard, the LA Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers were the favorites. However, Irving recently re-signed with the Mavs for a $126 million three-year extension. Right after news broke of this deal, NBA analyst Bill Simmons was one of the first to tweet out about it, saying this in his post.
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“Dallas had to go to 3 for 126m for Kyrie because there were at least 3 other teams ready to offer 2 for 25.”
As you may have guessed, this was clear sarcasm, implying that the Mavericks have heavily overpaid Irving, especially considering how quickly he switches loyalties. It was no surprise that this was coming from Bill Simmons, since he has publicly announced his distaste for the player multiple times since 2019. Simmons has even called him a “Team Distractor” in the past, along with a myriad of other nicknames.
Not to be slighted though, Kyrie decided to respond to Bill Simmons’ tweet.
Kyrie Irving fires back at Bill Simmons for his tweet
Before this deal was announced, Bill Simmons predicted a James Harden-Kyrie Irving swap between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Dallas Mavericks. However, when that fell through, he, of course, had his sarcastic reaction.
When Kyrie Irving saw this, he felt the need to reply to the renowned analyst. And so, he tweeted this out in response.
“I see you couldn’t help yourself with this one huh Billy Boy. Just wanna say I appreciate you and continue to be the person you are. My Tribe says hello.”
Lately, Kyrie Irving has been taking the ‘Kill ‘em with kindness’ route’, with this instance being no different. And his response here is a pretty good one. However, fans would have to wait to see how this little interaction ages, considering Irving’s propensity to demand trades.
Bill Simmons isn’t the only analyst Irving has gone after
There aren’t many on board with Kyrie getting such a big contract from the Dallas Mavericks. However, those affiliated with the Boston Celtics are seemingly on another level, probably because of Irving’s storied history with the franchise.
Like Bill Simmons, former NBA player Brian Scalabrine hated the Mavericks’ decision and even predicted either Irving or Luka Doncic would be asking for a trade by February. Being in the mood he is in, Kyrie Irving couldn’t let that slide, tweeting this out in response to it.
Taking the high road on both instances has really worked well for the Mavericks star. He has even gotten many fans on his side despite the controversial deal. Now, the only hope is that he can not only stay in Dallas but form a duo with Doncic that fans have been waiting to see.
