The Kyrie Irving free agency thread(to sign 4yr/$141M w/Nets page 105)

[Fafnir]

He was intentionally taking bad shots while cold, which warrants plenty of criticism, but is a mile from missing on purpose.

Game 5 in particular it really seemed like he was more motivated to show up individually than help the team. Game 4 he missed a ton but moved the ball well and found open shooters too. Not much of that in Game 5.

I didn't love his game 5, but he had I think 5 or 6 nice kick outs to open shooters early in the game.

They bricked every single one. He lost what belief he had in his teammates at that point in the game. The whole team seemed to, at least on the offensive end.

[gouki88]

I really hope this thread isn't a sign of things to come

Oh you know it is.

Quite frankly, if he wanted to p*ss off the anti-Kyrie contingent he would've went super-Saiyan and shot the lights out.

Yeah, and I don't think he would've gone halfway with it either. If I were him and this was how I was feeling I would've chucked up 40 shots and burned the bridge completely.

[Rosco917]

I have never seen the diva miss so many shots so badly.  I really question if he was missing his shots on purpose those last 3 games.  Many of his shots were not even close and I really wonder if Kyrie is that messed up mentally to miss on purpose to get back at Celtic Fans.  This guy is one messed up dude and if Danny attempts to resign him, I do not think I can watch them next season.  The guy is a great shooter and I have no other explanation for his performance.

lol

[RJ87]

The issue with all of this Ogaju is that this years Bucks team would have WAXED the Cavs, Celtics, 76ers, and Raptors of last year.

The current Raptors with Kawhi/Break out Pascal would do the same and the 76ers with Butler/Harris are also a better team than last year.

Going to game 7 of the conference finals is an achievement relative to who you are playing along the way. The Celtics of last year and the Rockets of last year did not face comparable obstacles.

Edit: Also the C's team's last year offense was trash even worse than this years, especially once Kyrie went down. They won on D. Now Kyrie hurts you on the defensive end, but he improves your offense by more. The issue became because of this teams awful chemistry and fit they stopped playing defense when their shots didn't go in. (also they stopped executing the offense if they missed more than two in a row)

Exactly. The East didn't wait for us.

The Bucks went from the 8th seed to the 1st seed with the best record in the NBA. Toronto not only added Kawhi, but Nick Nurse revamped their offense the same why Bud did in Milwaukee. Philly improved as well. If last year's Celtics team faced this year's Milwaukee team, we'd get demolished.

[Monkhouse]

The issue with all of this Ogaju is that this years Bucks team would have WAXED the Cavs, Celtics, 76ers, and Raptors of last year.

The current Raptors with Kawhi/Break out Pascal would do the same and the 76ers with Butler/Harris are also a better team than last year.

Going to game 7 of the conference finals is an achievement relative to who you are playing along the way. The Celtics of last year and the Rockets of last year did not face comparable obstacles.

Edit: Also the C's team's last year offense was trash even worse than this years, especially once Kyrie went down. They won on D. Now Kyrie hurts you on the defensive end, but he improves your offense by more. The issue became because of this teams awful chemistry and fit they stopped playing defense when their shots didn't go in. (also they stopped executing the offense if they missed more than two in a row)

Exactly. The East didn't wait for us.

The Bucks went from the 8th seed to the 1st seed with the best record in the NBA. Toronto not only added Kawhi, but Nick Nurse revamped their offense the same why Bud did in Milwaukee. Philly improved as well. If last year's Celtics team faced this year's Milwaukee team, we'd get demolished.

Shoot if last year's Cavs faced Milwaukee or Raptors, I think it would've ended in maybe 6 games.

People act like our team was solidified and title contender, and while I wanted to believe, towards the middle of the regular season, I had a feeling we were going to sink. There were just too many numerous question marks that needed to be answered.

[fingerlakes]

He went more than halfway and it would have been too obvious if he chucked it up 40 times.  His bridge has already been burned with the roller coaster he created this year.  Maybe he was hurting or there is some other explanation but watch those shots.  Many were so far off the rim it just boggles my mind being the great shooter he is. 

[Bobshot]

As I've said, there are people in the media who want to see Kyrie out of Boston and into NY. They have agendas.

You got to be careful about  interpreting what you hear or read. In the end, it boils down to what Ainge and Irving think.
And what Ainge needs to do to get Anthony Davis. Most likely, he needs to re-sign Irving. And getting Davis is one of the main things which will keep Irving in Boston, along with the extra $80 million he gets for re-signing here. Especially if Durant winds up in NY.

[timpiker]

My thoughts is that Perk is pretty [dang] correct about his assessment.  I like Perk the commentator even more than I do than his basketball career.  He's a straight shooter and always has been.   I re-learned something this year.  No matter how talented you are, you can still suck.  Thanks Cryee.

[Triplenickle]

At what point are the young players that sulked and the young coach they sat around with his thumb in his butt all season gonna be held accountable?

This season was just a shambles all around.  Hayward had a long way to go and it was more about him getting healthy then anything.  He was invisible in the playoffs.  Kyrie was horrible in the playoffs.  He took a lot of shots that he shouldn't have.  Tatum was the forgotten man at times and it had a lot to do with Kyrie taking those shots.  Brown, Morris and Horford played well.  Outside of those 3 the team stunk after game one.  This was a collective garbage effort on top of a superior team just beating the crap out of them.  This team has to drastically change going into next year. It's either trading assets and rolling with AD, Kyrie and AL.  Keep Brown but move Hayward and build solid role players who play tough D and can hit an open shot.  Or let Kyrie and Al walk, trade Hayward and build around Tatum and Brown, package picks to move up and possibly keep Rozier or sign a young PG.

Me, I don't get rid of Al. He's a glue guy, vet, big, and understands our sets and philosophy, and does whatever is needed and is talented. Can't get rid of all that until he can't go anymore. Doesn't matter if he's not the man, he's the best "role player" a team could ever have.

[Big333223]

Not Kyrie's finest moment but nothing he can't come back from.

He doesn't need to be dumped because of this.

Yeah, exactly. He is still only a 27 year-old. PP had some pretty ugly moments in his mid-20's that he came back from.

I'm not sure if surrounding him with different personnel - whether that be coaching or players - will help, but I imagine that it could

That's a good point. It was right around this time in Pierce's career he really turned things around in terms of his maturity and leadership.

How Kyrie deals with this will set the course for the rest of his career. Boston will offer him a max deal, there's no question about it. If he takes it and comes back dedicated to get better and learn from his mistakes, I'll be glad to have him back. If he cuts and runs, then good riddance to him because if he can't face a little adversity here, I don't want him.

We'll see how it all plays out.

[Green-18]

Here's a question for everyone.  Can Kyrie save face to some extent if he asks for a sign and trade to the team of his choice?  I'm not suggesting that it would erase the stain of the season.  Just curious to see how people would feel if he made a conscious decision to not pork us on the way out.  He could easily say that things didn't work out, he respects the organization, and that it was best for his teammates to move forward without him. 

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Call me crazy, but is it weird that I think we are better off having Derrick Rose than Kyrie Irving moving forward?

Granted, Rose is going to be 31 at the start of the new season, and the injury history, but he doesn't bring any drama or cryptic stuff, and as far as being a player, last season he showed that he can still be a pretty good one.

So if Kyrie goes, why not Rose to replace him? Will be cheap too.

Yeah, crazy, right?

[Vermont Green]

Boy they are really piling on poor Kyrie.  He deserves some criticism, should be held accountable, but this has swung to the other extreme.

[Green-18]

Call me crazy, but is it weird that I think we are better off having Derrick Rose than Kyrie Irving moving forward?

Granted, Rose is going to be 31 at the start of the new season, and the injury history, but he doesn't bring any drama or cryptic stuff, and as far as being a player, last season he showed that he can still be a pretty good one.

So if Kyrie goes, why not Rose to replace him? Will be cheap too.

Yeah, crazy, right?

Rose wouldn't work a starter.  His resurgence was a great story but he still plays lousy defense and struggles to be effective without the ball.  He's most valuable as a volume scorer off the bench whose minutes are limited when he's struggling.   

[gouki88]

Call me crazy, but is it weird that I think we are better off having Derrick Rose than Kyrie Irving moving forward?

Granted, Rose is going to be 31 at the start of the new season, and the injury history, but he doesn't bring any drama or cryptic stuff, and as far as being a player, last season he showed that he can still be a pretty good one.

So if Kyrie goes, why not Rose to replace him? Will be cheap too.

Yeah, crazy, right?

I like DRose, but man he's fragile. He only managed 51 games this season. However, he has dramatically improved his 3P% and didn't turn it over much.

I'd love him as a bench piece though.