Getty Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on during the first half against the Indiana Pacers
The Brooklyn Nets have been mired in all sorts of drama not only this summer, but for much of the time Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have been in town.
Between Irving’s ineligibility, taking games off and comments about coach Steve Nash, it’s safe to say his distractions have had a negative impact on the team. Durant isn’t free from blame either as his trade request that loomed much of the offseason had the whole league waiting to see what happened before he ultimately decide to return to the Nets.
In the case of Irving, he could’ve very well cost the team a chance at a championship run last season after he only appeared in 29 games. In a year that started with a big three consisting of himself, Durant and James Harden, the Nets ended the year without Harden and a total of zero playoff wins.
Speaking on HBO’s The Shop: Uninterrupted, Irving opened up about his mistakes over the past year, and owned up to them all.
Irving Owns Up
“My history is my history. I’ve done some quirky sh*t in public and some quirky sh*t behind the scenes and I’ve dealt with the vilification of that.”
Kyrie on his last couple years
Irving has been under the microscope through several years and he’s drawn all sorts of criticism for how how handled his Boston Celtics exit and how he’s handled things throughout his Nets tenure.
With so much to cover, Irving admitted it would take longer than he has, but he does mention how paid the price for some of his actions.
“I have been through a lot more than I could probably speak here on in five minutes or 10 minutes,” Irving said. “I don’t use it as baggage that I like to carry around with me. My history is my history. I’ve done some quirky sh*t in public and some quirky sh*t behind the scenes and I’ve dealt with the vilification of that.”
Irving has always been very outspoken about his feelings, so seeing him candid like this should come as no surprise, but it’s clear some of the things he’s done have started to take their toll.
Irving Already Feeling the Impact
Back in May, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Nike was unlikely to resign Irving to a new deal, despite his shoes being one of them more popular brands.
“Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has long had one of Nike’s most popular and profitable signature basketball shoes, but uncertainties surrounding his NBA future have left the company unlikely to extend him to a similar signature deal beyond the 2022-23 season, sources told ESPN,” he wrote.
Nike never confirmed the report, but it came in the midst of Irving not playing with the Nets over his vaccination status, and it might’ve created a lot more headaches than Nike was willing to take on.
Irving also lashed out at Nike in the past, calling one of the designs of his shoe “trash.”
“I have nothing to do with the design or marketing of the upcoming Kyrie 8, [in my opinion] these are trash,” he wrote in an Instagram comment about the shoe. “I have absolutely nothing to do with them! Nike plans to release it without my okay regardless of what I say, so I apologize in advance to all my sneaker heads and true supporters of the #KAI11 brand.”
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