Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving's request for a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers after making a third straight NBA Finals baffled the masses.
It stirred tons of speculation and points for talking heads to debate over for days without knowing the full details of why he would want out. It wasn't just fans and media either, LeBron James posted cryptic videos on social media quoting lyrics from rap songs to express his feelings on the matter.
The Cavs worked to accommodate his request before settling on an Eastern Conference rival, taking back an injured but talented Isaiah Thomas who can score in bunches to the point some wondered if the Celtics got a raw deal.
Inside the NBA analyst, Charles Barkley who is not known for mincing his words or biting his tongue voiced his dismay over Kyrie Irving's request and went on a tirade on NBA TV.
” I don't understand the Kyrie situation This generation of players — you want to be on a good team. You want to play with other great players. This notion where you want to be the man, I just think is so stupid. If I got a chance to play with another great player, I want to do that. I mean, the objective is to win.”
While Irving never alluded to wanting to be the man as his reason for the request, he was dealt to a Celtics team who had just acquired former Utah Jazz forward and All-Star Gordan Hayward.
Hayward suffered a season-ending injury in the very first game of the year. Since then, the Celtics have managed to gel and put together a 14-game winning streak that seems to have made Charles Barkley change his tune.
While the Round Mound of Rebound didn't apologize to Irving specifically, he did jump on the bandwagon after the Celtics took down the Golden State Warriors, stating that he believes Irving is an early MVP candidate.
“The front-runner for MVP this season is Kyrie Irving, no disrespect to James Harden.”
Watch the entire TNT segment below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=60&v=5wEuk1UXww4
Barkley forgot a number of names other than Harden, though. Giannis Anetokounmpo and Kristaps Porzingis are both playing out of their minds. But none of them had made an impact as big as Irving's.
The Celtics are on top of the NBA ladder and their best player had just earned Charles Barkley's nod.
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