Author Topic: Kyrie's Exit Update  (Read 3345 times)

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Kyrie's Exit Update
« on: June 17, 2021, 03:47:06 PM »

Offline colincb

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It never bothered me that he left, but his recent attention-getting is pure Kyrie. In any case:


Quote
By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant didn’t team up officially with the Brooklyn Nets until July 2019. However, the All-Star duo made plans to leave their respective franchises in Boston and Golden State several months before that, according to a new book excerpt.

New details about the Irving/Durant partnership have emerged from Matt Sullivan’s new book CAN’T KNOCK THE HUSTLE: which posted a lengthy passage on FoxSports.com on Thursday morning. The book chronicles Irving forming plans to leave Boston just weeks after he committed to re-sign with the franchise for the long-term in front of a TD Garden crowd. According to the report, Durant joining Irving at his mansion in Weston, ahead of a Celtics-Warriors game on January 25th. It was then the duo decided to start planning their next steps, according to Sullivan’s excerpt.

“Despite his misgivings about the racialized history of Boston sports fans, Kyrie had told the Celtics crowd that he wanted to re-sign for the long term at a fan appreciation event in the fall of 2018. But three weeks after that, his grandfather died, sending Kyrie into a sudden spiral of depression for which he’d deeply regret not seeking therapy. From that moment, he would tell his old friend Kevin Durant, “life became way more important than basketball. Anything I was doing in basketball, I didn’t really care.”

By the time KD arrived at his temporary mansion for their unfinished business, Kyrie had grown sick of creating a social distance from Celtics teammates for days at a time or else, as he was that month in January 2019, pointing fingers at them in public, especially around a loss in Brooklyn. He’d tried to stop internalizing the media’s misperception of his ego. He’d tried to be more present for his three-year-old daughter. To treat his job like a job. But self-care could begin professionally, on his own terms. He’d been charting a path home, by way of his boyhood team: the Nets.”

Shortly after that January meeting, Irving started to backpedal about his commitment to Boston over the long-term. He told reporters at Madison Square Garden to ‘Ask me July 1st’ when questioned about re-signing with the Celtics over the long-term. Weeks later, rumors swirled around Irving and Durant at the NBA All-Star game as they were seen talking.

“I’m just going to do what’s best for me. That’s what it really comes down to,” Irving said in February 2019 of his free agency. “Obviously this has become an entertainment thing for everybody. So somebody else is asking for a trade and I’m thrown into that, and uncertainty comes back on me. At the end of the day I don’t live in this little hub. Some people call me about this dumb s---, and of course my name (keeps getting) thrown in this. I’m not worried about a reputation, I’m not worried about a legacy to leave. I’m just trying to be a human being, trying to make the best decision for me and my family. So obviously things this season haven’t gone as I planned and that’s part of being on a team where you’re still trying to figure things out. So I’m always going to be mature about that, professional, come to do my job every single day and really just see what happens. And that’s what it really comes down to.”

Irving and Durant signed four-year contracts with Brooklyn in July 2019.

There's a very long excerpt of the book CAN’T KNOCK THE HUSTLE here:

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/kevin-durant-kyrie-irving-brooklyn-nets-superteam


Re: Kyrie's Exit Update
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2021, 05:00:24 PM »

Offline SparzWizard

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Doesn't change the fact that his ego is still big and misled the Celtics. His feeling shifted after meeting with Durant the first few times.


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Re: Kyrie's Exit Update
« Reply #2 on: June 17, 2021, 05:12:45 PM »

Offline CptZoogs

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I’m at the point where I blame management more than anything.  Were they completely out of touch where they couldn’t see the writing on the wall or were they holding on to hope he would change his mind?  It’s one thing for the fanbase to hold on to hope because we only catch glimpses of what goes on in the day to day and are left to speculate and parse through which reports are true and which aren’t.  However, the people working directly with him should have had their finger on the pulse.  I don’t blame Ainge for trading for him, but failing to cut his losses here was one of his biggest mistakes during his tenure.

Re: Kyrie's Exit Update
« Reply #3 on: June 17, 2021, 05:20:34 PM »

Offline Ogaju

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I’m at the point where I blame management more than anything.  Were they completely out of touch where they couldn’t see the writing on the wall or were they holding on to hope he would change his mind?  It’s one thing for the fanbase to hold on to hope because we only catch glimpses of what goes on in the day to day and are left to speculate and parse through which reports are true and which aren’t.  However, the people working directly with him should have had their finger on the pulse.  I don’t blame Ainge for trading for him, but failing to cut his losses here was one of his biggest mistakes during his tenure.

Yeah trade him and get called all kinds of racist because they kept Hayward and let Kyrie go, and don’t forget because of Boston’s history of racial indiscretions. No win for Ainge.

Re: Kyrie's Exit Update
« Reply #4 on: June 17, 2021, 05:24:27 PM »

Offline hpantazo

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I’m at the point where I blame management more than anything.  Were they completely out of touch where they couldn’t see the writing on the wall or were they holding on to hope he would change his mind?  It’s one thing for the fanbase to hold on to hope because we only catch glimpses of what goes on in the day to day and are left to speculate and parse through which reports are true and which aren’t.  However, the people working directly with him should have had their finger on the pulse.  I don’t blame Ainge for trading for him, but failing to cut his losses here was one of his biggest mistakes during his tenure.

Yeah trade him and get called all kinds of racist because they kept Hayward and let Kyrie go, and don’t forget because of Boston’s history of racial indiscretions. No win for Ainge.

They should have  traded both of them in hindsight. Still, it  was hard to  trade Hayward  as he looked bad when he came back  from his injury.

Re: Kyrie's Exit Update
« Reply #5 on: June 17, 2021, 05:27:14 PM »

Offline CptZoogs

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I’m at the point where I blame management more than anything.  Were they completely out of touch where they couldn’t see the writing on the wall or were they holding on to hope he would change his mind?  It’s one thing for the fanbase to hold on to hope because we only catch glimpses of what goes on in the day to day and are left to speculate and parse through which reports are true and which aren’t.  However, the people working directly with him should have had their finger on the pulse.  I don’t blame Ainge for trading for him, but failing to cut his losses here was one of his biggest mistakes during his tenure.

Yeah trade him and get called all kinds of racist because they kept Hayward and let Kyrie go, and don’t forget because of Boston’s history of racial indiscretions. No win for Ainge.

He didn’t trade him and the racism allegations came anyway.  So why not get some assets back in return.  TBH, Ainge probably should sold low on Hayward too.  I used to think he was smart for trying to match the young guys with the vets.  In hindsight, I was wrong.  If he was settled in on keeping the J’s, it would have been better to give them the keys sooner and let them work through the growing pains.

Re: Kyrie's Exit Update
« Reply #6 on: June 17, 2021, 05:32:25 PM »

Offline Roy H.

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I’m at the point where I blame management more than anything.  Were they completely out of touch where they couldn’t see the writing on the wall or were they holding on to hope he would change his mind?  It’s one thing for the fanbase to hold on to hope because we only catch glimpses of what goes on in the day to day and are left to speculate and parse through which reports are true and which aren’t.  However, the people working directly with him should have had their finger on the pulse.  I don’t blame Ainge for trading for him, but failing to cut his losses here was one of his biggest mistakes during his tenure.

Things were clear as mud at that point. As the story suggests, Kyrie leaving wasn’t something that he seriously considered until around January 24.  The trade deadline was February 7.

When did Danny find out that Kyrie was serious about leaving? We have to assume that it was sometime after that January meeting.  Was it February 1?  February 4?  February 8? 

Even if Danny was aware of vague rumors, my guess is that he hoped the team would make a playoff run, convincing Kyrie to stay.  He didn’t expect Kyrie to quit on the team.


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Re: Kyrie's Exit Update
« Reply #7 on: June 17, 2021, 05:44:00 PM »

Offline Ogaju

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I’m at the point where I blame management more than anything.  Were they completely out of touch where they couldn’t see the writing on the wall or were they holding on to hope he would change his mind?  It’s one thing for the fanbase to hold on to hope because we only catch glimpses of what goes on in the day to day and are left to speculate and parse through which reports are true and which aren’t.  However, the people working directly with him should have had their finger on the pulse.  I don’t blame Ainge for trading for him, but failing to cut his losses here was one of his biggest mistakes during his tenure.

Things were clear as mud at that point. As the story suggests, Kyrie leaving wasn’t something that he seriously considered until around January 24.  The trade deadline was February 7.

When did Danny find out that Kyrie was serious about leaving? We have to assume that it was sometime after that January meeting.  Was it February 1?  February 4?  February 8? 

Even if Danny was aware of vague rumors, my guess is that he hoped the team would make a playoff run, convincing Kyrie to stay.  He didn’t expect Kyrie to quit on the team.

He didn’t consider that Kyrie would make sure there was no playoff run.

Re: Kyrie's Exit Update
« Reply #8 on: June 17, 2021, 06:41:32 PM »

Offline tenn_smoothie

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I’m at the point where I blame management more than anything.  Were they completely out of touch where they couldn’t see the writing on the wall or were they holding on to hope he would change his mind?  It’s one thing for the fanbase to hold on to hope because we only catch glimpses of what goes on in the day to day and are left to speculate and parse through which reports are true and which aren’t.  However, the people working directly with him should have had their finger on the pulse.  I don’t blame Ainge for trading for him, but failing to cut his losses here was one of his biggest mistakes during his tenure.

Yeah trade him and get called all kinds of racist because they kept Hayward and let Kyrie go, and don’t forget because of Boston’s history of racial indiscretions. No win for Ainge.

Great, let's twist ourselves into pretzels trying to predict whether a decision will result in being called a racist or not.
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Re: Kyrie's Exit Update
« Reply #9 on: June 17, 2021, 07:14:44 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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I think Kyrie is full of you know what, and I wish people would stop giving him opportunities to spin whatever narrative he's spinning at the current moment.


All of that said, I do think it's true that Boston is associated with Whiteness, both among players and in the popular consciousness / pop culture.  I think that's a problem for the Celtics.

The Celtics ought to do whatever they can to promote and celebrate the communities in the Boston area that have a majority of residents of color, e.g. Roxbury, Dorchester, etc.  The Celtics can and should do what they can to highlight the fact that Boston is not just a bunch of white people who love Tom Brady.
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Re: Kyrie's Exit Update
« Reply #10 on: June 17, 2021, 07:17:49 PM »

Offline mr. dee

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I think Kyrie is full of you know what, and I wish people would stop giving him opportunities to spin whatever narrative he's spinning at the current moment.


All of that said, I do think it's true that Boston is associated with Whiteness, both among players and in the popular consciousness / pop culture.  I think that's a problem for the Celtics.

The Celtics ought to do whatever they can to promote and celebrate the communities in the Boston area that have a majority of residents of color, e.g. Roxbury, Dorchester, etc.  The Celtics can and should do what they can to highlight the fact that Boston is not just a bunch of white people who love Tom Brady.
They should make that fan with dreads who always wear the leprechaun hat be our ambassador for black free agents who consider playing here. I always see that guy on the sidelines.

Re: Kyrie's Exit Update
« Reply #11 on: June 17, 2021, 07:57:00 PM »

Kiorrik

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I can see where Kyrie's coming from with that.

Sometimes we have these life altering moments. They happen.

Sucks for us, but it's a business.

Re: Kyrie's Exit Update
« Reply #12 on: June 17, 2021, 08:10:51 PM »

Offline liam

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I can see where Kyrie's coming from with that.

Sometimes we have these life altering moments. They happen.

Sucks for us, but it's a business.

I don't make promises and not keep them in my business dealings.

Re: Kyrie's Exit Update
« Reply #13 on: June 17, 2021, 08:27:46 PM »

Offline Roy H.

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I can see where Kyrie's coming from with that.

Sometimes we have these life altering moments. They happen.

Sucks for us, but it's a business.

He should have given Danny and Brad notice though.
« Last Edit: June 17, 2021, 08:52:38 PM by Roy H. »


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Re: Kyrie's Exit Update
« Reply #14 on: June 17, 2021, 08:32:16 PM »

Kiorrik

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Liam / Roy - I agree with both of ya.

I think if Kyrie could go back in time he wouldn't have said those things either.

Doesn't absolve him, just understand the reasoning.

When my dad kicked the bucket I threw my life around something fierce. I didn't shaft a franchise in the process, but then my life isn't as volatile as that of an NBA player :)