"Then I got he**es and I said lord why me" - Redditors chime in with hilarious takes on Kyrie Irving's response to Kendrick Lamar's verse on new album
Kyrie Irving just doesn't seem to be able to catch a break. Following the release of Kendrick Lamar's album "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers," a few lines from a verse on the song "Savior" have been doing rounds on the internet. One line read:
"Seen a Christian say the vaccine mark of the beast, then he caught COVID and prayed to Pfizer for relief, then I caught COVID and started to question Kyrie." (h/t) Genius
Kyrie here obviously refers to none other than the NBA's Uncle Drew. Irving's decision to remain unvaccinated possibly cost the Brooklyn Nets a direct admission to the playoffs. He was only able to play in road games up until the end of the regular-season, when the New York vaccine mandate was lifted.
Kyrie Irving, on his Twitch stream and on Instagram, responded to his name being dropped on "Savior." He stated:
"I'm not mad. I'm not indifferent. I'm just grateful. How about that?"
r/NBA took notice of Lamar mentioning Kyrie and doubled-down on the fun:
People generally don't take well to Irving's opinions, and a user pointed out how they felt Kyrie was being a hypocrite:
People kept piling on.
Irving missed 53 games this season, the highest of his career when he has been healthy.
Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets' hefty payroll
Out of the top four players on the Nets' payroll this season, Kevin Durant (~$41 million) played a total of 55 games. The other three, whose contracts totaled ~$84 million this year, played a grand total of 43 games.
After dishing out $85 million in a year, ownership certainly didn't expect Kyrie Irving to play 29 games, Joe Harris to play 14 games and Ben Simmons to play zero.
Before the Harden-Simmons trade, the Brooklyn Nets certainly got more bang for their buck than they did after. James Harden came at a hefty price of $44 million, but gave you 22.5/8/10.2 a night, numbers which are slightly better than what he averaged following the trade.
Kyrie Irving has a player option for 2022-23 and is eligible for a $190 million max contract. Ben Simmons is guaranteed $140 million through 2025 and Joe Harris is guaranteed $56 million through 2024.
These are players that the Nets can't touch, so the attrition in the offseason will probably come in the form of the myriad of players Brooklyn signed on one-year deals last offseason, or the minimum players prepared to head to free-agency.