Getty Kyrie Irving guarding LeBron James.
This current NBA season has been very competitive but there have been some notable superstars who haven’t been able to play. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets are two of the biggest names to miss most of the year. They haven’t played with each other yet but they should make a formidable duo next season.
Durant will be the best teammate Irving has had since he played with LeBron James in Cleveland. While Irving and LeBron were able to win a title together, it’s not much of a secret that the two men didn’t get along. The two have played nice since going separate ways but Irving may have thrown some shade at LeBron when recently talking about Durant.
“I felt like I was the best option on every team I’ve played for down the stretch,” Irving said on Kevin Durant’s new podcast The ETCs. “This is the first time in my career where I can look down and be like, ‘That motherf***** can make that shot too.”
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He may not have directly referenced LeBron but it’s pretty obvious that those comments are a shot at the Los Angeles Lakers superstar, whether he meant them to be or not. LeBron is one of the best closers to ever play and there’s a reason he’s been back to the Finals while Irving hasn’t been back since they stopped playing together.
10 seconds left. Who you got taking the shot?? 😰
Part 2 of @KDTrey5 x @KyrieIrving on #TheEtcs is out now on all podcast platforms → t.co/Tx4kiTgwF9
Irving Doesn’t Think Nets Will Have a Head Coach
The Nets are embarking on an interesting experience with the decision to have Steve Nash take over as head coach. While Nash is taking over the role, it doesn’t sound like he’ll have much authority.
“I don’t really see us having a head coach,” Irving said. “You know what I mean? KD could be a head coach. I could be a head coach.”
Those are some strange comments by Irving. There isn’t a history of success for teams without head coaches. All of the best teams need a strong leader at the top. It remains to be seen if Nash knew the Nets weren’t planning on having a traditional head coach when he hired but it’s hard to imagine this experiment will end well.
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LeBron Not ‘Jealous’ of Anthony Davis
Had Irving not soured on LeBron, the two could’ve done some more big things in Cleveland. However, it’s clear the two didn’t have a great relationship. That hasn’t been the case for LeBron with Anthony Davis in Los Angeles. He explained why it’s been able to work.
“We’re not jealous of one another,” LeBron said Thursday. “I believe jealousy creeps in a lot. And that’s the absolute contrary of what we are.”
For some reason, Davis and LeBron just work well together. Even when LeBron formed the “Big Three” in Miami several years ago, it took a season for them to fully gel together. With Davis and the Lakers, the chemistry was almost immediate. The pairing looks like it will be fruitful than Irving and LeBron one was.