"I’d trust Ballsack Sports sources before Ric Bucher’s", "Must have a vendetta against the Brooklyn Nets" - Fans annoyed at Ric Bucher and his "sources" regarding Kyrie Irving's outrageous contract demands
Ric Bucher has copped criticism from fans for claiming that Kyrie Irving made outrageous demands of Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai during talks over a potential contract extension. However, with Irving also denying the validity of the quote, fans sent in reactions to Bucher's "sources".
Ric Bucher has come under fire of late for making some absurd claims. He faced criticism as recently as a few days ago after reporting that Ben Simmons left the Brooklyn Nets' group chat when they asked him to play in Game 4 of last season's playoffs.
The Athletic's Shams Charania denied the validity of these claims, while Bucher faced significant backlash for reporting "fake news".
"This NEVER happened.. it's an amazing story but it didn't happen"
@ShamsCharania on the rumors that Ben Simmons left the Nets group chat after they asked him to play in game 4 against the Celtics #PMSLive https://t.co/wzWShQzG9m
In similar circumstances, Ric Bucher reported the information he has on Nets superstar guard Kyrie Irving. He said:
"[Nets governor] Joe Tsai has already shown he’s willing to play hardball with Kyrie by taking a max extension off the table almost immediately.
“Now, part of that may be Kyrie’s doing. I’m told he wanted his new contract to guarantee he wouldn’t have to play more than 60 games in a season and would not have to play any back-to-backs, which he apparently referred to as inhumane.”
Ric Bucher: "I'm told [Kyrie Irving] wanted his new contract to guarantee he wouldn't have to play more than 60 games in a season and would not have to play any back-to-backs." ahnfiredigital.com/nba/brooklyn-n…
Although the story garnered a lot of attention from fans, the situation took a wild turn as Irving responded to the tweet himself.
@TheNBACentral https://t.co/fT4gHtsHlS
Posting a GIF of a baseball player tipping his cap, Irving shut down Bucher. His tweet sent social media into a frenzy.
Here are some of the funniest responses on Twitter:
Brooklyn Nets Kyrie Irving Responds to Ric Bucher Second Fake Story under twitter repost https://t.co/A0lWOGjlel
@NetsKingdomAJ Why @RicBucher just flat out lying now and attacking nets players? He trying to become the next @getnickwright?
@NetsKingdomAJ At this point Ricky is just bored! After he lied about Ben Simmons, no one is gonna believe him anymore…
@NetsKingdomAJ None of our great beat writers and reporters got this info but somehow bucher did ? Mega cap
@TheNBACentral Ric Bucher sources https://t.co/5QUGG7p5JQ
Shams literally just called Ric Bucher a liar and now people are believing him 2 days later twitter.com/TheNBACentral/…
I know I’m late to this… but Ric Bucher must have a vendetta against the Brooklyn Nets https://t.co/n9hVt41sSa
Ric Bucher been on one with the fake reports lately and nobody has checked him.
Ric Bucher right now twitter.com/TheNBACentral/… https://t.co/RORYodhT15
@jrichardgoodman Not saying it’s false but Ric Bucher says some wild things that no one else seems able to verify quite often
Ric Bucher this entire week twitter.com/thenbacentral/… https://t.co/EMcPgUSAOD
Every Ric Bucher report https://t.co/2xTL0hHtfo
Ric Bucher is the same one who broke the bogus “Ben Simmons left the group chat” story twitter.com/thenbacentral/…
Ric Bucher wrong again? I am shocked. twitter.com/clutchpointsap…
Ric Bucher just out here lying for no reason
@TheNBACentral I’d trust Ballsack Sports sources before Ric Bucher’s
i could tell ric bucher some nba info and hed report it twitter.com/thenbacentral/…
Stop giving Ric bucher quotes a spotlight twitter.com/TheNBACentral/…
The knives appear to be out for Ric Bucher after Irving shot down the analyst's claims. However, with Irving's reaction to the tweet, it could also be suggestive of some future developments in his offseason saga.
Kyrie Irving's busy offseason
Alongside superstar teammate Kevin Durant, Irving has been the center of attention in the offseason. Irving pushed for a move away from the Nets in the offseason after being denied an extension. The Lakers were one of the teams interested in the guard, who ultimately opten into his player option.
Kevin Durant‘s desire to see the Nets get rid of general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash is shared by teammate Kyrie Irving:
hoopsrumors.com/2022/08/atlant…
There may be new developments on the horizon as the Lakers are willing to include draft picks in the package for Irving.
REPORT: The Lakers are now “willing” to include both 2027 and 2029 first-round picks in a potential deal for Kyrie Irving.
(via @Krisplashed, nydailynews.com/sports/basketb…) https://t.co/hRvacdLbIG