Getty Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks and Dillon Brooks of the Memphis Grizzlies.
During a regular season game between the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies last season, Mavericks star Kyrie Irving went viral after a post-game exchange with former Grizzlies starter Dillon Brooks. Brooks and Irving were involved in a jersey swap except Irving did not accept Brooks’ jersey after giving his to the ex-Grizzlies forward. During a recent Twitch streaming session, Irving went into detail about the viral interaction saying he didn’t accept Brooks’ jersey because he was pissed at him.
“Me and him had a whole viral moment this year after the game where I was pissed that I got hurt again,” Kyrie said about Brooks. “I was not necessarily just pissed, I was pissed at him, and he knew it, too.”
Kyrie Irving Calls Out Dillon Brooks
Irving was having one of his best games in a Mavericks uniform against one of the juggernauts in the Western Conference. Irving noted that he was on a tear heading into the final frame of that game as he had already registered 26 points. But Brooks, who has a noted reputation for being a chippy player, stepped on Irving’s ankle while coming off a screen in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks went on to lose that game 108-112 which put a severe damper on their playoff hopes
“He [Brooks] hurt me. He didn’t do it on purpose, I don’t know if he did it on purpose. He hurt me again in that game. I had like 26 going into the 4th quarter at Memphis, we were supposed to win that game and go into the playoffs,” Irving said about Brooks.
“He here is just doing Dillon Brooks things. I didn’t take his jersey after the game because I was so just so focused on getting to the locker room and getting my rehab done for recovery.”
“I was pissed at [Dillon Brooks]. He knew it too… He hurt me again in that game… I didn’t take his jersey after the game because I was just so focused on getting to the locker room.”
—Kyrie Irving
(via @KyrieIrving /Twitch)
Departure of Coaches Left Durant & Kyrie With Sour Feelings
Players were not the only part of the Brooklyn Nets roster shakeup during the 2022 offseason. Key coaches from that season were also let go, including Eli Carter and Adam Harrington, who were major fixtures on former Nets’ head coach Steve Nash’s staff before Jacque Vaughan took over early last season. Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Bally Sports says that the departures of those two coaches left both Irving a Kevin Durant disgruntled. It is a decision that could have contributed to both stars demanding to be traded by the franchise in February.
“I know that someone who is tied to Eli Carter, a guy that knows Kyrie well, was let go because of the whole vaccination portion of it. And then I’m told [he] was promised that he could resume his assistant coaching situation, once the mandates were what they were in New York City. No such dice,” Robinson said.
“In addition to that Kevin Durant’s shooting coach Adam Harrington was let go from the Brooklyn Nets. And I know that those two gentlemen are upset about how that was handled.”
With Irving and Durant both set to begin their first full season with their new teams, both will be under immense pressure to deliver at this point in their careers. It will be interesting to see if they can get it done.