Kyrie Irving finally spoke out on Instagram Live late Wednesday night, and Thursday afternoon, NBA insider Brian Geltzeiler joined Moose and Maggie with this synopsis of what he saw from Irving’s speech:
“He doesn’t necessarily always speak to things directly, but I saw a guy who wanted to get some of his stance out so he could be understood.
His public silence has put him in a spot where he needed to clarify some things there – and one thing he clarified was his intense desire to play basketball,” Geltzeiler said. “He didn’t sound like someone who wanted to retire, he sounded like someone who wanted more time to make an important decision.”
That said, though, Geltzeiler understands that the Nets perhaps made the decision they did, to ice Irving until he can become a “full participant,” because they don’t necessarily believe part of that in full.
“One thing on Kyrie but not lost on the Nets is that this is not an isolated incident with him. He has picked and chosen times not to play there, and there’s serious doubts in the organization that even likes playing basketball anymore,” Geltzeiler said. “He tried to dispel those notions, but he doesn’t always act it – he tried to get the bubble upended and then didn’t go after being healthy enough, and last January, he took two weeks off because he was that upset over what was happening, and his communication was lacking. The Nets look at this whole big picture and the amount of damage control they’ve had to do, and they’ve had enough. They think we have two guys in Kevin Durant and James Harden who have a finite window to win, and they don’t want Kyrie damage control to upend that.”
Geltzeiler also “scratched his head” at one thing Irving said about the vaccine situation itself.
“I scratched my head when he said there were promises made to him there wouldn’t be a mandate or he wouldn’t be made to take the vaccine – but this isn’t the NBA or the Players Assocation’s call, it’s the city he plays in, and he has to be a part of that,” Geltzeiler said. “There’s a reality here Kyrie wants to deny a little bit, but I think it brought him closer to the reality he wants to deny.”
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It is interesting, however, that on Sunday, Steve Nash was ready for part-time Kyrie before the organization’s about face, and Geltzeiler says that may be able to be pinned on one other superstar.
“I’ve heard some rumblings and I think you can kind of connect the dots – there were contract extensions on the table for the three stars. KD signed his, Kyrie’s we’ve heard was pulled, but Harden casually said in media availability that he’s never been a free agent and it might be interesting to explore that,” Geltzeiler said. “That’s not what they want to hear! With what they gave up for him, they want to know they have him for the balance of career. That, and they know that James Harden is a vocal leader in that locker room, and I think there’s legit concern that their treatment of Kyrie with kid gloves may be alienating James Harden.”
The same may go for KD, who Geltzeiler said “has to look at Kyrie as less reliable than he was two years ago,” given how both he and Kyrie are apparently comfortable deferring to Harden.
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“I do think Harden had a prominent voice with the Nets before all this, but the ironic part is what helped him there was Kyrie’s total willingness to defer to him as the point guard,” Geltzeiler said. “From there, Harden felt unfettered to be a leader, and he and Durant are good friends, so this is exactly what Durant expected. There are things Harden will do vocally that Durant won’t do, and if this is going to be a Kyrie soap opera – I think he does want to play, but he wants his life to be worth more than that. He wants to get a message out, but I don’t think he goes about his messaging all that well, and he’ll learn that the reckless abandon he’s shown for his public images is damaging.”
No matter what the end may be for the situation, that notion may be the biggest fallout.
“I think it’s damaging him with the Nets and he has to be more focused on that – this ‘I don’t give a crap’ attitude is really hurting him,” “He had thriving off-court business with the Uncle Drew thing, but he’s made himself publicly toxic. That’s spilled over into how the Nets are viewing him right now, and they’re prepared to go on without him – and that may be the best way to get him back.”
So what does Geltzeiler feel will be the ultimate outcome?
“I absolutely think Kyrie will come back, and I think at some point, he’s going to get the shot in his arm,” he said. “He needs some more time to think about it, and he’ll get it, but he didn’t rule that out.”
Perhaps, Geltzeiler feels, the competitor in Kyrie will and the ego within will overcome all.
“January 6 really rattled him, and a lot of us – but a lot of us got up and went to work the next day, and Kyrie didn’t, he felt he needed some time. What was interesting was when he came back: after the Harden trade was done and he came out and started balling,” Geltzeiler said. “Kyrie didn’t get as good as he is at basketball by not being competitive, and one of the things that may motivate him to come back is seeing the Nets have success without him. He’s one of the architects who put this together, and I don’t think his competitive side will want to see this thing go on without him.”
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