Kyrie Irving has found himself a new home in Dallas, making it the first time in his career that he’s played in the Western Conference. The reason behind him wanting out of the Brooklyn Nets was due to Sean Marks and the front office refusing to give him a lengthy 4-year extension to the tune of $198 million.
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Marks, Tsai, and company wanted to sign him on a shorter deal with stipulations on top of that given just how unpredictable he is with his availability. Irving, as any player would, wanted more security on his deal and requested a trade.
In less than 48 hours, Mark Cuban and the Mavs had snagged themselves a secondary offensive engine for their superstar, Luka Doncic. However, the one narrative that fans stuck to through it all was that Kyrie would indulge in ‘extracurricular’ activities with the Mavs, just as he did with his previous teams.
Also read: “Just Another Game”: Kevin Durant Elucidates What Playing Against Kyrie Irving Meant
Kyrie Irving on his own freedom
Kyrie Irving has always been vocal about his beliefs both on his own volition using social media or during his press conferences. Most recently, he would go on Twitch to talk about how he feels when people suggest that he’s ‘free’.
“How am I free if I know my people in Africa aren’t free? How am I free if I know my indigenous people aren’t free in Australia? How am I free if I know kids are still working in the cobalt mines in the Congo, making Teslas?” said Irving after the Mavs lost to a Zion Williamson-less New Orleans Pelicans team.
“How am I free if I know kids are still working in the cobalt mines in the Congo, making Teslas”
— Kyrie Irving on Twitch pic.twitter.com/dFMTSbJGLb
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) March 9, 2023
KAI has made it very clear that he is very much invested in his people i.e., his ancestors. Him trying to find out his heritage was what led to his antisemitism debacle from earlier on in the season as he shared a screenshot of a movie that contained several falsities about the Jewish community.
Kyrie Irving gets called out for being a hypocrite
The main gripe people have with what Kyrie Irving just said on Twitch is him only now voicing his opinions on child labor after having cut ties with Nike. It’s quite well known that Nike using questionable methods to manufacture their products.
Fans online questioned Irving on the same. There’s been no response from the Mavericks guard’s side as of yet.
Curious if he knew how Nikes are made and by whom and under what working conditions as well.
— Angelos Mihalitsiano (@AngeloM316) March 9, 2023
Did he not know what Nike had done/was doing when he got a shoe deal with them?
— JessK (@jlkra1980) March 9, 2023