Official Welcome Home Kyrie Thread

[Paradise]

Mark Cuban: Traditional media outlets intimidated and becoming outdated by NBA player’s voice on social media such as IG, Tik Tok.

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[MrDollarBills]

Mark Cuban: Traditional media outlets intimidated and becoming outdated by NBA player’s voice on social media such as IG, Tik Tok.

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Cuban knows exactly what's up. He called ESPN out years ago and called them all full of **** because their analysis is garbage and most of what they talk about isn't quantifiable.

[gigantes]

...None of what is alluded to in this disingenuous tweet is remotely true.

Said media member, after throwing out that grenade into the public consciousness, didn't bother to clean up what he accused Irving and Durant of, and in fact went about his business, with his agenda completed.

So, should Sean Marks address this as well? I'm kind of curious how this all works for you.

Yes, segments of the media can relentlessly target you if you become 'interesting' enough over the years. Overanalysing you, being purposefully disingenuous with your words, and all that.

We've seen this for hundreds of years now with thousands of public figures, and the onus is still on the wounded party to defend themselves or seek damages. That's the way it is. Really, it would be pretty miraculous if somehow Kyrie got a special exemption upon all that.

So yeah, that's why I think it might be useful for Marks to sit down with Kyrie (and or whoever) and talk about useful strategies to cope... maybe even assign a PR assistant as a consultant or something. If Kyrie refuses to listen or dismisses this stuff out of hand, then it's on him. Not like he'd be the first to say that and later become more mature about it, however. I think his colleague 'Bron in particular has made a pretty amazing transformation when it comes to this stuff. One that he doesn't get enough credit for, I think.

But the larger point is that there's a cycle that Kyrie seems to keep falling in to... one where he speaks out and means one thing (giving him the benefit of the doubt, that is), then gets misinterpreted by segments of the media, then that comes back to him, and then often he feels the need to further respond. Sometimes that perpetuates the cycle directly, other times it maintains his image as an 'interesting person' in the shark tank of the news arena.

Personally I'd like to see the cycle eased back a bit by whatever means possible. It's just as much the Nets' responsibility as anyone else's IMO. Kyrie isn't necessarily doing anything wrong, but that's not the point. This stuff can get distracting and potentially divisive for everyone. A minor annoyance for myself is that it's almost impossible to read a GB or r/NBA thread about Kyrie, because it's almost guaranteed I'll get pissed off at NBA fans within moments. A more important annoyance is that I don't want this stuff potentially distracting or angering the Nets' org or players when it comes time to do work.

If there's one thing I'm pretty sure about, it's that the media isn't going to change the way it works anytime soon.

[MrDollarBills]

I saw this on the GB and I nearly broke my keyboard:

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2030469

Feels like it's so clear from all the stories and the talking heads coming out that the media in general has taken it upon themselves to try and trash his reputation. Can't tell you how many podcasts I've listened to where whoever's talking starts off with the qualifier, "I consider myself a pro-player but.." and then proceeds to absolutely nuke James Harden. He hasn't exactly been carrying himself the way you would want a superstar to act but seriously every article and segment on the dude just has to be some kind of hit piece? Every media member is out there trying to get their digs in too. It's definitely not out of the ordinary for the same talking points to be repeated but this time it just feels so concerted and kinda corny tbh

I find it amazing how fans find something wrong with Harden getting rolled by the media but yet they sit and eat up every time Stephen A and the rest of the media goons insult Kyrie Irving relentlessly to the point of making it PERSONAL.

[gigantes]

Irving said this is “just the right time, right situation, right environment” for him to thrive in the team concept.

“I don’t care for any of those individual accolades or goals. it really doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “I know I’m validated culturally. I don’t need All-NBA, I don’t need MVP, I just want a championship with a great team and say we could look back on history and say we did it our way and we had fun doing it.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamzagoria/2020/12/22/kyrie-irving-says-he-wont-play-hero-ball-anymore-focused-on-winning-a-championship-with-brooklyn/

Considering that in the offseason some media types were dourly predicting that Kyrie could turn in to an egomaniac head case and derail the Nets' season, this was certainly a nice quote to read. On the contrary, with him having so many friends on the team and feeling so satisfied to be here, it's hard to see something like that happening.

It's almost like zombie Celtic pessimism shuffling forward, looking for brains...

On a different note, one thing that does scare me a little bit is that Kyrie seems to be kind of fearless at times rebounding the ball in and around the paint. Last night in the 3rd quarter I think it was, a big man partially fell on him after both had gone for the ball, and my throat clutched right up. I'd really rather not see anything like that on any kind of regular basis.

[Prokorov]

Kyrie just absolutely ethered the the Celtics. H almost broke 40 without breaking a sweat. Abused smart, an all-nba defender like he was a some scrubini.

But really, im here to talk about Kyrie's defense. he has really been digging in on that end. getting up in guys, challenging bigger players on switches, and really going after it on the glass. people talk about him like a negative defender. but between his IQ and quicknees he has looked outstanding on D.

[MrDollarBills]

Kyrie just absolutely ethered the the Celtics. H almost broke 40 without breaking a sweat. Abused smart, an all-nba defender like he was a some scrubini.

But really, im here to talk about Kyrie's defense. he has really been digging in on that end. getting up in guys, challenging bigger players on switches, and really going after it on the glass. people talk about him like a negative defender. but between his IQ and quicknees he has looked outstanding on D.

His defensive awareness was off the charts yesterday. He knew where to be at all times and was aggressive on switches.

I know it's 2 games, but his leadership right now is amazing to watch.

[vincecarter4pres]

Watch on YouTube

[Sharcm1]

If Irving remains engaged like this the whole season the nets are going to be very hard to beat. He seems positive and on a mission. Last year I thought he couldn’t play defense and now I see he can just needs motivation.

[MrDollarBills]

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[MrDollarBills]

Posting this here because all hell will probably break loose today:



I can't defend Kyrie here.

I have no issue with him celebrating his sister's birthday, except that:

1) He's maskless at an indoor party that has a crap ton of people in it. That's going to land him in quarantine. Reckless behavior.

2) Why is he missing the Denver game if he's out partying? What's the excuse here now, because personal reasons won't cut it.

This looks really bad and frankly this is unfair to the team.

I can't take him seriously. I thought the guy wanted to come here and win a championship but clearly he's moved on from that idea.

Stuff like this is going to tear up the locker room. I don't care what anyone says, if you are apart of a group trying to accomplish something and you see that someone is going AWOL, it's going to lead to resentment.

The media is now going to go berserk. I give up, we aren't going to win anything, Kyrie isn't all in. I can't say that I am surprised by this, but it's disappointing to watch this guy prove his detractors right.

The fact that this guy was out partying Sunday while the Nets were getting run off the floor by the Thunder is pretty much the straw that breaks the camel's back.

[Jordan Syndrome]

If Irving remains engaged like this the whole season the nets are going to be very hard to beat. He seems positive and on a mission. Last year I thought he couldn’t play defense and now I see he can just needs motivation.

Well that lasted about a week.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Its time for Kyrie to break his silence and explain why hes not playing and when hes coming back.

[MGrand15]

This is even worse than the Harden stuff. And we killed him for that. Not sure what Kyrie is thinking but he's turned a private issue into a completely public one. Outside of quarantine, I expect a fine or a suspension. If the Nets aren't willing to do anything, the league will step in. And of course he's doing this when the league is meeting about making restrictions more strict.

[Sharcm1]

I don’t even know what to say about this. If he’s on a personal leave then he needs to say now what it’s for. I’m sorry this is unacceptable. It’s a bonehead thing to do especially when his teammates are out there busting their butts without him. Even when he comes back now he probably just lost the respect of his teammates.

Let’s trade him for harden.

[MrDollarBills]

This is even worse than the Harden stuff. And we killed him for that. Not sure what Kyrie is thinking but he's turned a private issue into a completely public one. Outside of quarantine, I expect a fine or a suspension. If the Nets aren't willing to do anything, the league will step in. And of course he's doing this when the league is meeting about making restrictions more strict.

I honestly would forgive him for the party issue if it wasn't coupled by the fact that this guy is missing games. What he did was really stupid, and illegal for that matter because I don't think New Jersey allows parties indoors of that size at a public venue, but it would be a forgivable act if he wasn't throwing the entire team in disarray with his absence.

I mean the guy is out for "personal reasons" and yet he's on film partying with his sister at the same time that the Nets are playing OKC....there is no excuse for it.

So he's okay to party but he had to miss Sunday's game and now today's (which he wouldn't even be cleared to play in now). This season is quickly becoming a disaster and i feel sorry for KD who was railroaded by this guy into coming here when he clearly isn't serious about wanting to lead this team and win. Leaders don't do this ****.

[MrDollarBills]

I don’t even know what to say about this. If he’s on a personal leave then he needs to say now what it’s for. I’m sorry this is unacceptable. It’s a bonehead thing to do especially when his teammates are out there busting their butts without him. Even when he comes back now he probably just lost the respect of his teammates.

Let’s trade him for harden.

Rockets already have John Wall, who actually shows up for work to earn his pay.

[MrDollarBills]

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Imagine being paid $500k for each of those games.

The Nets need to fine him. **** walking around on eggshells, this guy just did the team dirty.

[drchaos]

Can't say that any of this nonsense is good news.

I think it is healthy for the rest of the team to learn how to win games without using Kyrie as a crutch.

With that said I would much rather have him on the court.

[Little Digger]

I can’t say that any of this news is surprising in the slightest