Kyrie Irving shocked everybody this week when he exercised his option with the Brooklyn Nets for the 22-23 season. He also shocked his team because he never informed the Nets of his decision before it was reported by Shams Charania.
“I was told the option pick up came as a total surprise to the Nets,” said Windhorst. They found out when everybody else did.”
That wasn’t all Brian Windhorst revealed this week.
Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up, the NBA insider explained that the issues between Kyrie and the Nets were mainly due to his overall treatment of his fellow players and coaches.
“[The Nets’ front office] made it clear the status quo from last season is not acceptable. And it wasn’t just about the vaccine mandate, it was about the way Kyrie Irving treated his teammates… his coaches,” Windhorst said.
The Nets believed in order for Irving to remain with the team, they needed a “renegotiation of the way the team operates.”
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NBA stories via Google! Follow Us
Irving has only played in 103 games for the Nets through three seasons. Injuries and his refusal to comply with New York City’s coronavirus vaccine mandate cost him several games. He is averaging 27.1 points, 6 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in those games.
Despite entering the year as a title contender, Brooklyn finished with just the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and was swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics.
