Kyrie Irving Has Strong Words for Fred VanVleet After Nets Shock Raptors

Getty Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets celebrates his game-winning shot in front of Fred VanVleet #23 of the Toronto Raptors

On December 10, Fred VanVleet was named as a player that the Brooklyn Nets could be interested in. VanVleet was among four Toronto Raptors players that Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report shared that the Raptors could look to deal at this February’s trade deadline. On Friday, December 16, the Nets faced those potential targets in a 119-116 victory for Brooklyn. After the game, Nets star Kyrie Irving had strong praise for the Raptors’ point guard VanVleet. 

“I love going against Fred,” said Irving. “I watch him a lot, he watches me a lot. So throughout the game, talking back and forth a little bit. He comes in that fourth quarter, hits a three in transition right in my face and he’s like, ‘let’s go.’ And that’s what I’m saying. The matchup, they’re fun.”

Nets Interest in Raptors Stars

Fred VanVleet has been great for the Raptors this season, averaging 19 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds for Toronto. However, despite his play, VanVleet joined Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr., and OG Anunoby in a list of players that the Raptors could potentially move this season in a December 10 report from Bleacher Reports’ Eric Pincus. 

“The list of teams interested in [Pascal] Siakam, [OG] Anunoby (especially Anunoby), [Fred] VanVleet and [Gary] Trent is varied, likely including the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers, Lakers, Suns, Kings and Nets, among others,” Pincus wrote. 

Pincus did mention that it’s a collection of younger teams that could look to trade for VanVleet before mentioning the Nets in his piece. 

“The bigger question is VanVleet, who turns 29 in February. With his experience, some sources believe he could be a target of some of the younger teams with cap space, like the Magic. Orlando could even offer a package before the deadline with one of its younger guards like Cole Anthony, a center in Bamba and perhaps a veteran like Harris to the Raptors.”

The Nets have been rumored to potentially move on from their veteran back up point guard Patty Mills, could VanVleet be a move to upgrade the positions? It seems unlikely, especially when you consider VanVleet’s $85 million contract, that he still has $43 million remaining on. 

Patty Mills ‘Most Likely’ Will be Traded by Brooklyn

Patty Mills has been in and out of the Nets’ rotation at times this season, which could be a reason that Brooklyn may look to move on from the sharpshooting Australian point guard. NBA Insider Keith Smith reported on his podcast ‘Postin’ Up‘ that he is a player that could be on his way out of Brooklyn this season. 

“Now, they’ve done a better job with their three max guys in Durant, Irving, and Simmons of building out their roster around those three guys because they’ve kept Harris, They’ve got Curry, You’ve got Claxton, Um, you’ve got Royce O’Neale, They’ve built up a kind of stack of mid-range tradable contracts. I think the guy who’s most likely to get moved in any deal from them is Patty Mills, and he feels super redundant, especially if you feel like Kyrie is going to be there. He doesn’t really play. He’s not in the rotation now, wasn’t in the rotation. Even when Kyrie was out. They were going to Edmond Sumner and cam Thomas over him and bad about seven million dollars. That that’s a decent chunk of matching salary. So I think if they’re gonna do anything the upgrade,” Smith said.