Subscribe
Follow Us
Kyrie Irving's five-game suspension will officially start on Friday when the Brooklyn Nets take on the Washington Wizards. However, as it turns out, the enigmatic guard may have already been checked out even before his punishment was announced.
The Nets decided to suspend Irving on Thursday amid his refusal to apologize for promoting a movie that pushed antisemitic beliefs. Hours after the stunning announcement, Kyrie eventually apologized, but obviously, there was no way the team was going to retract the suspension.
As it appears, Irving may have already seen all this coming. One might even argue that he was already expecting some sort of heavy punishment from the team. According to a report by Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, those around Kyrie took exception to his unusual attitude, particularly in the Nets' loss to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday:
Article Continues Below
Irving had become an albatross around his team, too. He had played a listless game on Tuesday in a loss to the Chicago Bulls, leaving his teammates and opponents to privately describe him as disengaged and seemingly “in another world.” For a player averaging 30 points and shooting at almost every opportunity, Irving didn't make a basket until the fourth quarter. He had been distant to everyone in recent days, sources said, his presence feeling like an anvil hanging over everyone.
Based on this report, it would not be absurd to think that some of Kyrie's Nets teammates may be feeling a bit relieved now that he's away from the squad. It seemed like he felt like a dark cloud looming over the entire team, and perhaps the Nets can now focus on basketball again without the Kyrie Irving distraction.
This now begs the question: will Kyrie return to the Nets after his suspension? Some folks believe that he's already played his last game in Brooklyn, which at this point, feels like a real possibility.
