Stephen A. Smith believes Kyrie Irving should feel responsible for the Brooklyn Nets’ recent struggles: “He comes across at the very least SELFISH!!”
Kyrie Irving has only been able to play in select away games this season due to his vaccination status. Vaccine mandates in New York City and Toronto prevent him from playing. The Nets have seemed to be affected by his situation as they broke an 11-game losing streak just Monday night.
In Tuesday’s episode of “First Take,” analyst Stephen A. Smith voiced his opinion on Irving:
“I think that Kyrie is a superstar extraordinaire. He is box office. That brother is worth 50 million a year as far as I’m concerned so long as we know he gon’ get off the bus and play, because he’s that spectacular of a player.”
Stephen A. Smith on Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving and the Nets' recent struggles
Kyrie Irving is averaging 24.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists in just 14 games so far. Shooting 45.2%, including 36.8% from the 3-point range, he has statistics similar to his career averages. Statistics like these support analyst Stephen A. Smith’s opinion of Irving being a “spectacular player.”
But what stands out is, in fact, the 14 games played. The Brooklyn Nets just snapped their 11-game losing streak Monday night in a 109-85 blowout win over the Sacramento Kings. Irving's 24.1 ppg scoring average has definitely been missed in games he was unable to play during Brooklyn’s losing streak.
With that in mind, Smith commented on Irving's reliability:
“I’m also an individual that is on the record that does not believe Kyrie Irving can be trusted. I don’t believe he ever deserves a long-term contract again in his career. I would give him one-year at a time, max dollars — he don’t deserve to be paid less than anybody, 'cause he’s that spectacular.
"But you’re paid to show up and play, and put your excellence on display, and that is something he has struggled to do.”
Irving is exercising his right to make a personal vaccination decision. But Smith said Irving has a job to do, and when he is contracted to do that job, he needs to fulfill his responsibility. A decision like this one could impact Irving’s future contracts, as he has been known to put basketball second to his personal beliefs.
But when one gets paid as much as Irving does and then fails to commit when the team needs one most, future devotions come into question. How much will a team be able to trust that he will be there for them?
Smith said:
“Kyrie Irving, his first year in Brooklyn, missed 52 games. Got injured, he missed 52 games. Kyrie Irving, last year, missed 28 games. Kyrie Irving, this year, has only played in 14 games. Everything ain’t been about the vaccine.”
Smith defended his position by saying he was not targeting Irving for his vaccination status.
“I’m not here to judge Kyrie Irving about his vaccination status," Smith said. "I’m talking about Kyrie Irving the baller, who doesn’t want to ball nearly as much as other ballers want to ball.”
During his three seasons in Brooklyn, Irving has averaged a career-high 26.6 points. That could be due to the fact that he has played fewer games (88) in three seasons for Brooklyn than he did (127) in only two seasons for Boston.
With James Harden traded to the Philadelphia 76ers and Ben Simmons, Andre Drummond and Seth Curry joining Brooklyn, the squad is going to need time to build chemistry. Kyrie is going to have to work harder to fit in among a team while playing part time, now that they have new players.
Irving would definitely be an asset to this squad, but the Nets are looking to gain traction with or without Kyrie at full commitment.