Why Did Kyrie Irving Leave Brooklyn Nets? A few days ago, Irving’s trade-off from Brooklyn Nets to Dallas Mavericks occurred and took the basketball world by storm. Irving was traded to Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, and future Draft picks. It wasn’t an immediate decision since Irving showed interest in moving to a different team.
It could have been late, but Irving wanted to make it happen before the NBA trade deadline, February 9, 2023, crossed. Kyrie Irving signed Brooklyn Nets on July 7, 2019. If you follow basketball, you might know that the conditions under which Irving left the Celtics were not “great” and happy-happy.
The four-year contract was set to expire soon, but Irving requested a trade-off. Irving’s time with the Brooklyn Nets wasn’t productive for both parties. While he went on to make and break records in the NBA, the Nets’ were only able to tap the runner-up in the 2021 season. In the seasons of 2019, 2020, and 2022, they got knocked out of the first round.
Irving joined Brooklyn Nets with his friend and professional basketball player Kevin Durant. The Nets also traded Kevin Durant to Pheonix Sons for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four first-round draft picks, and a further pick swap. To the news, Irving responded with, “I’m just glad that he got out of there.”
The statement shows that something was going on in the Nets team. So let’s see the reason why Irving requested a trade-off a few months before his contract was set to expire.
Why Did Kyrie Irving Leave Brooklyn Nets?
Irving left the Nets for more than one reason. The first reason was that he was more of a liability than an asset. Irving didn’t play in the 2019-20 season due to an injury. In addition, he missed more than 50 games in the 2020-21 season because he was against taking a covid vaccination. The Nets suspended him for posting an antisemitic (anti-Jew) movie link.
According to The New York Times, Irving first apologized for posting it but then retracted his apology. The suspension lasted for eight games, and he was reinstated, but not before apologizing for his behavior. Though he might have meant it well, he certainly got into a controversy. Kyrie asked the Nets for a trade-in in November 2022, and it was confirmed in December 2022 that they would trade him.
The second reason might have been that Irving felt disrespected by the team. In an interview, Irving said he needed “healthy boundaries” to continue to play. From what he said, it seems someone went behind his back and played something serious. Serious enough to get him to talk about his family’s disrespect. In the interviews, he also said that he has Jewish family members, and he cares a lot for them.
For the time he played with the Nets, Irving secured some of his best averages. In the 2019-20 season, he secured an average of 27.4 points; in the next season, he secured an average of 26.9 points in 54 games. He maintained it by averaging 27.4 in 29 games (2021-22) and 27.1 in 40 games (2022-23).
We can’t say that his record was supreme, but yes, the Nets will feel his absence in the days to come. Before they finalized the trade deal, Irving and the Nets negotiated for a contract extension too, but it came with some alterations, which he didn’t like. The situation went so bad that Irving got ready to leave the Nets (breach the contract) if the trade didn’t work out.
These were the major reasons why the Nets and Irving would have wanted to get rid of each other for good. Kyrie was active on his Instagram account, but his last post dates to August 27, 2022. He posts anything and everything he finds true and worthy.
I respect him for this trait, but he takes it too far and hence, is a ticking time bomb. We live in the real world, and the truth is told, the Nets would be happy trading him. Let’s see how his journey with the Dallas Mavericks goes.
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