Kyrie Irving not only promoted an antisemitic film on Twitter, but then he doubled down on it (he has since deleted the tweet). And also doubled down on an endorsement of comments made by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
So what are the Nets going to do about it beyond limp statements of condemnation by owner Joseph Tsai, word salad answers from coach Steve Nash and letting Irving skip out on media obligations?
Absolutely nothing, NBA insider Brian Windhorst said Tuesday on ESPN First Take.
Windhorst said:
They’re not going to do anything. They haven’t done anything for years. They let him do whatever he wants. It’s been the case forever.
Joe Tsai has had to make repeated statements for things Kyrie has said and done. Steve Nash has had to come out there repeatedly for things he’s said and done. It’s always going to be something with Kyrie Irving. He is a tremendous player. He is an injury-prone player. So you know when you have him, you have to hope he stays healthy. So if he stays healthy, you’re almost ahead of the game. You know he’s going to miss a certain amount of time. And it’s also become obvious Kyrie Irving is going to do things that are going to distract from your team.
It is going to happen. It is going to happen in another month, in another two months, it’s going to happen next year. It’s going to happen the year after that, no matter what team he is on. And the Nets have set the standard they are not going to hold him accountable. And now they’re not even going to make him talk to the media. Instead they’re going to trot out Steve Nash to do it.
I know people are saying, ‘Why haven’t they punished him?’ They’ve never punished him for anything. How can they start now? They tried to get a modicum of it back by the way they handled his contract negotiations last summer. By basically not giving in and offering him the contract he wanted, and trapping him into a prove-it season. And he is playing great offensively. He’s having one of the great starts he’s ever had in his career. But the Nets still aren’t thriving because the Nets haven’t been thriving with Kyrie Irving since they got him, since they got into this agreement that they can’t seem to get out of.
They’re not going to do anything. They’ve never done anything. And when something else happens later this year, whatever it is, they’re not going to do anything either.
MORE ON ESNY:
• WFAN-ESPN ratings takeaways: Craig Carton, Evan Roberts trouncing Michael Kay
• XFL reveals team names, New York’s team fittingly now living in Florida
• Giants’ loss is trade deadline sign: They should not be buyers
• Forget Aaron Judge. Would Mets raid Yankees for Brian Cashman?
• Why Mets might be OK with overpaying for Brandon Nimmo
James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com