Irving, 30, is in the final year of his contract, where he is owed a player option of $36 million guaranteed. Contract talks between the Nets and Irving broke down, where Irving wants to move on with less than half a season before becoming an unrestricted free agent.
He took the opportunity to miss his first scheduled game with a calf injury, when the Nets hosted the Washington Wizards on Saturday night. Cam Thomas scored a career-high 44 points, when the nets rebounded from 22 points down for a 125-123 win. For Brooklyn, this was just their fifth win in the last 12 games, improving to 34-20. Brooklyn sits fourth in the Eastern Conference, but third in the Atlantic Division, 1.5 games behind Philadelphia for second, and 4.5 behind Boston for the division (and conference) lead.
Irving’s decision the day after Tom Brady’s stunning retirement from the NFL sent shockwaves through the NBA community, none of which were positive. Stephen A. Smith called Irving’s request “idiotic,” while Hall-of-Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkely said that Irving cannot be counted on by any team who he is under contract with.
Smith is correct, while Barkley said what everyone else is thinking.
After hitting the championship-winning shot to give the Cleveland Cavaliers their first Larry O’Brien Trophy in franchise history on June 19, 2016, Irving requested a trade the following offseason. Multiple outlets reported a disconnect between Irving and LeBron James. Irving’s performance in the 2016 Finals should have earned MVP honors, but the award went to James.
Irving was traded to Boston in August of 2017, where he would spend the next two seasons, and the Celtics would make the playoffs both years. The Celtics were knocked off in the Eastern Conference Finals his first year after the trade by the same Cavaliers that traded him.
After declining a $21.3 million option with the Celtics, Irving signed a 4-year, $136 million contract with the Nets in July 2019.
He has needed every dime the last two years with all the fines and suspensions he racked up. Given the nickname “Captain Flat Earth,” Irving began making statements the past few years about the Earth being flat, his refusal to get the Covid vaccine, and sharing stories from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was kicked off of every major social media platform in 2018.
His resistance to take the vaccine resulted in not being permitted to play a game in the state of New York, causing only 29 appearances last season.
Earlier this year, Irving was suspended eight games for tweeting to “Hebrews to Negroes,” a wildly anti-semitic book and movie that at points refers to most aspects of society being controlled by European Jews.
This brought Irving’s grand total thus far to more than $17.65 million in fines. Twice Irving was fined for shouting obscenities at fans, including in his return to Cleveland while with the Nets last season.
The two Los Angeles teams (Lakers and Clippers), Dallas and Phoenix are all reportedly in the running to make a trade with the Nets. Chris Paul only has a couple of years left in him with the Clippers, while Luca Doncic could use a point guard to take the pressure off his scoring in Dallas. Phoenix may need a star in the backcourt if the rumors of moving Devin Booker keep gaining traction.
Clevelanders, myself included, are forever grateful for what Irving helped do six years ago. While James keeps hinting of coming home for a third time, Irving has become an auslander, and evolving into an ostracized one at that.
-JC24