(ESPN975) Rumor: Kyrie Irving to Houston?

No, he missed games because he is a dumbass… and this isn’t the first time he has missed games either. Virtually the entire NBA played, but not Kyrie “white sage” Irving.

 

It’s not even about politics to me. He has supported more liberal leaning causes in the past and my position was the same - he has a history of finding ways to miss games, flaking out and he is delusional.

An elite offensive player when he plays, but he is off in the head. I personally wouldn’t touch him. He wants his max contract so he can find some other cause to be a distraction and next time it very well may be a liberal cause. He is just a troll.

 

Reeko. If you said that you don’t think Kyrie is a good leader or teammate and cite all the stuff you just cited then fine. That’s your opinion. Nothing wrong with an opinion backed by reporting. But you made a statement saying what I said simply about the possibility that the Rockets would make this trade and use his experience and leadership as “fake news”. Calling something fake news would mean that you know for fact the opposite. You know for a fact the Rockets don’t value his leadership experience and work ethic and won’t execute a trade for him.

My man, if you read what I said I never said that it was a fact that this is what the Rockets are doing. I said it’s a possibility and that if true the reasoning may be that they value his experience as he could still lead this young group. You not thinking he is a good leader or teammate based on the reporting is fine. Its your judgement and opinion given the “facts” reported which is fair. I think differently. He made questionable decisions (including advocating for smart) in terms of how he came to the media or berated other players but his work ethic and dedication was not in question since there’s no proof he wasn’t. Kobe and MJ did a lot of questionable things to teammates but they won. I don’t know if kyrie is not a great leader and teammate.

There were issues in Boston and things I personally wouldn’t do if I were him but I’m not letting a few reports cloud the entire body of work. Neither of us know the entire story and I tend to not judge too quickly due to a few reports and biased feature stories. At the end of the day I think there is value from a guy like him who is a champion and all star to our team especially on an expiring contract. And if Stone’s scouts and they operations guys who have done the leg work think kyrie is good then who am I to dispute? Its ok to disagree but to say an opinion is fake without knowing the truth just ain’t right.

 

I’ll be a mavs fan for the remainder of Lukas career if kyrie is on this team

 

I never said he is a long term asset. I just said if the report is true I could understand why the Rockets would do this trade. And again agree with him or not including his decisions in Boston the man can flat out ball. There’s no reports of him being unprofessional in terms of timeliness or walking out on games or missing team meetings etc. Most of his actions were about berating other players on the court and revealing too much team info and personal opinions to the media which was seem as a distraction. And his stance on COVID was his personal choice. He also simply said basketball is just a job which it is. Your opinion of him is fine. I just withold judgement and think there is value and room for him on this team to help young players in their work ethic and technical know how which elevates their games.

 

Stone has been fairly calculating with his trades, he was forced into the Westbrook and Harden trades but extracted good value in both. Were they perfect, no, but given the circumstances he made the right choice between Nets and 76ers offer and he got a first for Westbrick and has managed the Wall situation about as well as anyone could.

Kyrie is uber talented, but not anyone I want around young, developing players. If there is a deal, maybe its to dump Wall and reroute Kyrie to some other team. I wouldn't waste our other trade assets on him, that would be bailing the Nets out. I'm hoping this is just the Nets trying to prop up his value or Stone sniffing the blood in the water to see if he can turn Wall into other assets.

 

Yes but he shouldn’t be viewed as long term and simply to swap for Wall’s contract. Also he still has championship value, playoff, and all star experience and technical knowledge along with work ethic. That’s why I would support the move.

 

You can add veterans who provide good work ethic and leadership to the young guys who don't have a history of hurting their teams and making themselves look insane in the media, don't make $36 million and who don't take a ton of minutes away from your young players, hindering their development. If the Rockets wanted an overpaid veteran point guard to take minutes away from the young guards, they would have just let John Wall play this season. There's a reason he sat the entire year. Kyrie may be a better player, but the circumstances are no different.

If the Rockets were remotely close to contending and were a point guard away from being a legit borderline contender, I could maybe understand the reasoning, even if he's only got a year left and he's a bit of a basket case. As a one-year gamble, I could see it. But the Rockets just got done with back-to-back seasons of having the worst record in the league, they already have one veteran point guard who's overpaid they're trying to get off the books in a year and they have only one more year of their own draft pick before the OKC picks kick in. It makes zero sense.

 

is he bringing superfriends?

 

None of us know. But if the interest from Rockets is there, this would signal the end of KPJ as a PG or even Rocket I would think. As I said the move is probably to swap Wall’s contract and possibly other contracts. You don’t have any value for him. I don’t agree with your assessment of historically hurting teams. He is a champion and seven time all star. Arguably top 5 pg so there is great value in that itself. All star caliber technical knowledge and guidance is not the same as any veteran leadership. Yes his decisions were questionable including his COVID stance but there is no conclusive evidence he isn’t a leader on the court, mentor or good teammate. This is a narrative or conclusion based on the limited evidence and opinion pieces from news networks like ESPN. You are entitled to your opinion based on what you read. I just choose to withold judgement because I know if you write a few stories about anyone on this fan site including myself you could paint a negative picture that doesn’t capture the whole essence or body of work of that person.

 

Why would we help the Nets by take him, our future is tied to their failure. We should want the Nets to be difunctional and focused on drama for years to come.

 

Cleveland, Boston and Brooklyn. Those cities suck immensely compared to the H. Don't blame him for wanting to leave. He'll be in a much better mood once he gets to Houston.

 

I agree with Nook. Kyrie is one of the most talented players I've ever seen. Like a reincarnation of Isiah Thomas good, but he's a space cadet. He doesn't care about basketball. You're not going to get him to start caring now either. Is that really what you want to put next to Jalen Green? I wouldn't take him for free (although I did admittedly like his commentary on the 30 for 30 on And1)

 

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. But I just don’t understand why so many people are saying he doesn’t care about basketball? His COVID stance and mental health breaks were his choice and he dealt with the consequences. His statements to the media about greater things other than basketball is true. Basketball is but a game in light of other socio political and civil rights issues in this country. He was reflective and thoughtful and this should not be construed as not caring about the game. He even said he thinks about basketball 24-7 but there’s other things on his mind as well and he has this right just as you and everyone on this site who may have had other things on your minds other than your corporate job or any other career field.

This should not equate to “not caring”. No where did any player say he doesn’t care. He himself never said he doesn’t care about the game, his team, or his teammates. Yes his decisions were questionable and baffling at times but do we have enough evidence to confirm that he doesn’t care about playing? In Boston it was quite the opposite. He called out and challenged teammates publicly. He openly disagreed with Stevens. He advocated starting Smart. Does this seem like a guy who doesn’t care about winning?

 

A dumb azz for not taking a vaccine that he was initially told he wouldn't have to take? The dumb azzes are ppl like YOU lol.


He should be applauded for standing his ground

 

There was just an article about him saying basketball was just his job (I read it on here but if you don't see it lmk and I'll found it). I'm ok with that stance but it just reaffirms what I always thought was the case. I'm not going to make it political at all because I want to keep the discussion here but those decisions had consequences to his team. Nobody had ever suggested or implied Kyrie had any mental health issues (himself included) before any of this transpired. I'm not saying it's not possible but just doesn't quite add up. On the vaccine, and this is coming from someone who didn't want his kids getting it until they needed to, I had to so I could travel to NY and California. I also was aware of the consequences if I didn't just like Kyrie. He's smart. He knew what he was doing and how that conflicts with his team's ability to win. On the Celtics situation, there's a lot more to unpack than that. He promised he was going to resign there and obviously didn't. The fact that he knew Marcus Smart was good doesn’t exactly make him "care about winning" . Neither does calling out Stevens. I don't buy what Kyrie is selling in short

 

That’s ok it’s your take which is fair given the information from the media. I actually don’t think Kyrie is smart. It seems as if he doesn’t know how to channel his emotions as he has blurted out internal team issues to the media and his deeper thoughts to the media. I don’t know if he understood the ramifications. Selfish decisions I would say but I wouldn’t call him uncaring about the game. And his story about basketball is “just a job” is highly criticized. But in essence basketball is but a job. It may be something more to guys like KD or Kobe but at the end of the day its a profession just like your corporate jobs or any other career. But my point is simply that I’m not judging him by a few articles and media spin. I know better than that since the media can vilIfy anyone to create juicy narratives. And Teammates like Smart and Holford have publicly supported him. Even after these incidents and issues i still think he holds value for being a great player and could be useful to us especially for a young team lacking in playoff experience and veteran Leadership.

 

Worst case scenario, we have another John Wall for two seasons.

Best case scenario, Jalen Green gets a clutch hall of famer as a running mate and mentor.

Kyrie deserves a chance in a low-pressure situation where the franchise basically coddles its players. Rock bottom, nothing to lose.

 

I don’t understand, what about kyrie screams “mentor”

 

Just because he made few questionable decisions doesn’t mean he doesn’t have anything to offer in terms of mentorship and guidance on the court. We aren’t talking about him being a life coach. We are simply talking about technical knowledge in the game of basketball. Dude can still hoop. He still has great insight and an understanding of the nuances of the game and can still share this with our young guys. This is invaluable despite only for one year and he is still better than any player on the Rockets roster right now.