DNP — Personal Reasons (1/14/21)
The people have spoken, so today we’re getting some Kyrie Irving talk while the blockbuster trade gets tabled for now. And yes, I intentionally cut the poll results when it got to that exact percentage.
Iso, Iso!
Where to even start with this guy.
I guess let’s preface this discussion with how amazing he is on the court. We all can agree Kyrie is one of the most skilled players of this generation, and he’s probably the most singularly talented ball-handler in league history. He’s a straight-up magic show with the rock. And I’m confident that if you gave pick-up hoopers a straw poll on whose game they would Space Jam Monstar steal, Kyrie would be at the top of the list.
Off the court? Oh boy.
If memory serves, I believe the first time Kyrie made waves in the civilian world was with his flat-earth comments, which he defended because he “thinks differently” (as opposed to scientifically). Then came his holier-than-thou interview on First Take. Then came throwing his young Celtics teammates under the bus for not being “a championship-level team,” even though the year prior that same core group advanced further in the playoffs than Kyrie ever did in his Boston tenure.
All that aside, we can denote this past summer as the start of his saga’s latest chapter — a chapter I can only describe as a sine wave of eye-popping events.
First, he was one of the primary opposers to the NBA bubble restart on the grounds that it took away from the reform efforts he and many other citizens were fighting for in the wake of the George Floyd murder. His argument was later buoyed by the tragic shooting of Jacob Blake which occurred during the NBA’s reconvened season. I’m never going to criticize Kyrie for his stance, but it has to be said that the platform for change the players had in the bubble was powerful. Nevertheless, he kept busy himself by producing a documentary on Breonna Taylor that brought attention to her case and advocated for appropriate action. He also put his money where his mouth was and started a fund for WNBA players who chose to decline a return to play for social justice reasons or otherwise — an exceptional move given the relatively smaller salaries WNBA players work for.
Following that ton of positive karma, with a pivot back to basketball in the offseason, he comments that he doesn’t need a head coach. After the Nets JUST signed a new head coach. Then he basically sub-tweet disses his old teammates (namely LeBron James) with a comment that he finally has a fellow clutch-performer in his now-healthy teammate Kevin Durant.
After taking the heat for those incendiary remarks, it seems he thought it was best to decline speaking to the media at all despite his contractual obligation. He could have accepted the fines and went on with his life, but he just had to call the media “pawns” on his way out.
Come this past December, he burns sage before a game in his return to Boston. Some called it being extra, but he does have roots in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe so I figured this was legitimately cultural:
It actually took 3 weeks, but we’re now at where we’re at with Kyrie being absent from the team for “personal reasons” (which is helpful code for “because of reasons”). Kyrie himself has given us nothing to work with. We flat out don’t know why he ghosted, and I apologize to him in advance if I’m missing his true motivations. But for my guess, call me Tristan Plato because I can only see what Kyrie’s shadow allows me to see. Given that his initial absence coincided with last week’s Capitol riot (if that’s what we’re calling it), our best bet is to infer a causal relationship there — especially considering Kyrie’s social justice history. A comparable example comes to mind when he sat out a game after Kobe Bryant’s death — though this wasn’t a social justice issue, it was a precursor to how Kyrie would deal with grief.
That being said, he absolutely did not handle this situation with tact regardless of his reasons. His initial plans for absence were unknown to everyone in the organization, save a few teammates, which left the team scrambling for answers. He left his team to fend for themselves among a period of box score struggles.
Even worse, he was *allegedly* caught at his sister’s birthday party celebrating at the club amid his unsanctioned leave. Maskless. With a crowd of people. In a pandemic.
Finally the cherry on top. Instead of going to work, he was on a Zoom call while the Nets warmed up for a home game. Granted that Zoom was for Tanahie Aboushi, a progressive candidate he endorses for Manhattan district attorney, but this cements how little he understands or cares for the optics of his situation. And for a fun angle, ironically, Miranda Hobbes was present in the call to witness Kyrie Steve-ing the Nets.
I know most of this has been a laundry list sh*tting on Kyrie but I sympathize with him, I really do. I don’t know what it’s like to have the responsibilities of a black athlete-activist in America. I don’t know what it’s like to have to reconcile my beliefs with my profession.
No he’s not delusional. No he’s not toxic. No he’s not Kanye Irving. Yes his actions are inexcusable by most standards, but Kyrie looks like he’s been conflicted and unbalanced. I’m of the opinion that we are large, we contain multitudes.
My prediction (that the hoop fan in me hopes won’t come true): Kyrie will retire from the NBA before he turns 30. Could be at the end of his Nets contract, could be at the end of this season, could be tomorrow. I think it’s clear that basketball is not the most important thing to him and that’s fine! I think it’s clear that he wants to generate as much positive change as possible in America and that’s more than fine! While other athletes from LeBron to George Hill have navigated both waters to great effect, Kyrie faces a true dilemma from his own machinations. I don’t think he can have everything. These past few months have shown that the level of social activism he wants is clearly at odds with his NBA life, otherwise he would accept his current athletic platform as sufficient. Uncle Drew understands that at the end of the day, basketball has always been, and will always be, solely about buckets. I think Kyrie Irving knows he’s needed elsewhere.
Pick & Pop
1–5 on my picks so far this season. Which means I’m due.
Pick: Houston Rockets
This is a pure gut pick. I have no idea if the Spurs have been playing well recently. I have no idea who is even suiting up for the Rockets. All I know is that the bad juju James Harden brought to the team has now been purged, so I expect a cathartic performance from this Houston squad.
Pop: Denver Nuggets
I hate to say it, but the Warriors don’t look awful anymore. Chef Curry is cooking. Andrew Wiggins looks like a decent player. The stats aren’t pretty, but Draymond has been pivotal to their recent play since he came back from injury. Denver has bounced back after a slow start to the season, but this looks like a let down spot against a similarly resurgent team. Not sure if any team does, but they don’t have an answer for Steph. And while Jokic has been amazing, Dray has a knack for single-handedly shutting down stars.
Throwback Jams
Quick maths: only three US presidents have ever been impeached, but somehow Donald Trump became responsible for 50% of these cases. Yes he’s being evicted from his house in a week, but there are further-reaching effects in this upcoming trial — namely, a conviction may disqualify him from holding future office. Let’s hope reason prevails over partisanship. Or let’s hope 25 GOP senators forget to show up to the trial.
A throwback to a president with good form on and off the court:
2 for 1
I hope good things happen for whomever came up with Kyrie’s Basketball Reference nickname:
On that note, here’s some more of my favs:
And now for the undisputed best nickname:
