Despite the fact that the Nets have several talented players on their roster, six-time All-Star Kyrie Irving believes the team is lacking the pieces it needs to reach their ultimate goal.
Irving joined the Nets this offseason, leaving the Celtics after just two seasons. He faced a fair amount of criticism in Boston, and even more when he decided to leave the team. The former Duke Blue Devil officially signed with Brooklyn in July. Kevin Durant soon followed, creating one of the more formidable duos in the NBA. Durant, however, is still recovering from an Achilles injury and doesn't intend to play this season.
Critics were skeptical of Irving during his stint with the Celtics, even going as far as saying he was “toxic” for the locker room. They questioned his heart and desire to lead the team, and there were reported arguments and finger-pointings along the way. Speculation came to a boil when Irving was spotted chatting with Kevin Durant before last season's All-Star Game, as most thought they were planning for their futures.
Following the 2018-19 season, Irving, who was eligible to opt out of his contract to become a free agent, was reluctant to commit to a future with the Celtics. When asked, he simply said, “Ask me in July.” Ultimately, he decided to try his hand at leading his hometown Nets.
Durant isn't the only member of Brooklyn's roster that has dealt with an injury this season. Kyrie Irving has missed 26 games this season due to a left shoulder impingement. In matchups without Uncle Drew, the Nets have recorded a 13-13 overall record. That's not bad, but Irving still thinks the team could use some help.
“I mean, it's transparent. It's out there. It's glaring, in terms of the pieces that we need in order to be at that next level,” Irving said after finishing with 14 points on 6-for-21 shooting in Brooklyn's 117-106 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday at Wells Fargo Center.
“I'm going to continue to reiterate it,” Irving added. “We're going to do the best with the guys that we have in our locker room now, and we'll worry about all the other stuff, in terms of moving pieces and everything else, as an organization down the line in the summer.”
Kyrie's comments are certainly curious, and they seem to be a call for action. He went on to say that the Nets have “great pieces,” but it seems those pieces aren't enough in his eyes. He's looking for guys who can compliment certain players on the team. Interestingly, Irving called out the players who need to be complimented:
“Collectively, I feel like we have great pieces, but it's pretty glaring we need one more piece or two more pieces that will complement myself, [Kevin Durant], DJ (DeAndre Jordan), GT (Garrett Temple), Spence [Dinwiddie], Caris [LeVert], and we'll see how that evolves.”
Hmm… this sort of talk can cause issues in a team's locker room, as certain players were omitted. Whether or not Irving's remarks will create any sort of rift remains to be seen.
The Nets fell to 18-22 with Wednesday night's loss to the Sixers. They'll hit the halfway point of their season on Saturday, when they'll host Giannis Antetokounmpo and the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks. This leaves the Nets with 41 games to find the right track.
For Irving, the goal for the rest of this campaign is to stay healthy. Missing pieces or not, he says the team has to compete:
“Just be healthy,” Kyrie Irving said , via ESPN. “Be as healthy as possible. You never know what can happen as the season progresses, and we've just got to take every day as an opportunity to lead these guys and do what you can.
“It's glaring that you're missing a big piece here. We all know that. But we can't continue to make that excuse. We've got to go out there and compete and continue to lock in and see where we end up.”
Whether or not the Nets will heed Irving's message remains to be seen. This season's trade deadline is drawing near (February 6). Let's see if the team makes a move for another player.
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