Is Kyrie Irving's career with the Brooklyn Nets over? ESPN's Stephen A Smith definitely seems to think so.
The renowned broadcaster has always been a big fan of Kyrie the basketball player, but at the same time, Stephen A has never been shy of criticizing the enigmatic point guard for all of controversies off the court. Right now, amid Kyrie's most recent scandal, Smith firmly believes that the only thing holding the the Nets back from dropping him is the fact that Irving is still under contract with the squad (via SiriusXM NBA Radio on Twitter):
“If Joe Tsai did not have to pay Kyrie Irving his $36.9 million, Kyrie Irving would be gone,” Smith said. “Right now, if you could get somebody to take him, he'd probably be gone. His career in Brooklyn is pretty much over. I think it's definitively over after this season. The question is: What do you do with him now?”
It's not as if Kyrie's on a minimum deal, too. Had this been the case, then the Nets would have probably terminated his contract already. However, the Nets still owe Irving $39.6 million for this season, and releasing him now would have major financial implications on the organization.
Stephen A also implied that Brooklyn would be more than willing to listen to trade offers for Kyrie, but at this point, it doesn't seem like any team in the NBA is interested.
Smith heaped praise on Irving's elite basketball talent yet again before lambasting him for letting his ego get in the way of doing what he does best:
“In the end, this guy who's a phenomenal basketball player and a sure-fire first-ballot future Hall of Famer … decided that the priority was going into a situation where he could do what he wanted to do instead of prioritizing winning,” Stephen A said.
Is this the end of Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn?
@stephenasmith tells @BGeltzNBA and @SamMitchellNBA he thinks a breakup is rapidly approaching. pic.twitter.com/sycMO0AzUj— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) November 5, 2022
Stephen A Smith is a savage. Then again, he's not entirely wrong here. Kyrie Irving brought this whole mess upon himself with his irresponsible activity on social media, and unfortunately for him, he will now need to face the consequences of the same.
Whether or not all this ends up leading to Kyrie's exit from the Nets, however, remains to be seen.
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