Kyrie Irving made his Mavericks debut on Wednesday night — he scored 24 points in a win at the Clippers — and then walked off the court to learn the Nets have traded Kevin Durant to the Suns.
His reaction was even more comically delusional than usual. The guy has become a parody of himself.
“I’m glad he got out of there. I’m just praying for his happiness, praying for his well-being,” Irving told reporters.
“I think this was in the works like after Year 1. I wasn’t sure about whether or not I wanted to be in Brooklyn long-term because of things that was happening behind the scenes. I just did my best to put my head down and work as hard as I could. There were some unfortunate circumstances that came up there that were out of my control, whether it be the mandate with the vaccine, or missing games, being suspended, or just little things that just put just wrenches in our journey.”
Remember those Budweiser commercials where the guy is giving the post-game interview and blames his teammates for not falling on his fumbles? They should redo them with actual Irving press conference footage.
Being unable to play home games because he would not get vaccinated? Completely out of Irving’s control. Getting suspended for his promotion of an anti-semitic film and never really apologizing? That’s like, your opinion, man. Alienating James Harden last season and then blowing up a potential title contender this year by demanding the recent trade? Visionaries think different.
Also: Irving playing the disrespect card after he voluntarily opted in this summer is just spectacular. The Nets were awful to him. Not awful enough to pass on taking their $37 million, though. A true profile in courage. It is amazing Durant chose this guy to be his right-hand man. The Warriors must laugh about this every day.
James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
