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Kyrie Irving has yet to explain his ongoing absence from the Brooklyn Nets for personal reasons.

Sean Marks indicated that they have yet to finalize a date for when he will return to the team.

“Kyrie will have the opportunity to address his absence when he is ready to do so,” Marks said in the statement.

Irving was on volunteer organizing event Zoom call for Tahanie Aboushi's campaign for district attorney for Manhattan on Tuesday shortly before the Brooklyn Nets tipped off against the Denver Nuggets.

"There are dozens of reporters calling everybody they can think of, trying to get to the bottom of this," wrote Joe Vardon of Irving's leave. "It appears few people inside the NBA know what’s going on with Irving, and the few who probably do (like, Nets officials) aren’t saying. There is real concern throughout the league from people who know him."

Vardon asked Steve Nash if he was sure, or at least confident, that Irving would return this season.

“Uhh, sure," replied Nash. "Like I said, right now I got to focus on coaching this team and getting the best out of them. I can’t make any predictions or prognostications about things outside of this building.”

Via Joe Vardon/The Athletic

I haven't been following any of this, what's going on.

12footrim wrote:I haven't been following any of this, what's going on.

fans and media implying or outright saying Kyrie is depressed/suicidal

A listener called into Frank Isola's show and scolded them for even covering the story -- as if a star player being AWOL for 13 days and 4 straight games and his coach has not talked to him is somehow off-limits

It was as if he fell of the edge of a flat earth for 2 weeks... until Kyrie was caught on multiple videos maskless at birthday party for his sister, which now means "whenever" (if?) Kyrie returns he'll have to quarantine even longer.

Amazingly this is somehow going even worse for the Nets then even the most staunch Irving critics predicted.

Nick Wright tweeted Kyrie is on the table for Harden, but even the Rockets aren't interested. How long until Kyrie is working on a statue in China to put next to Starbury's?

puja21 wrote:

12footrim wrote:I haven't been following any of this, what's going on.

A listener called into Frank Isola's show and scolded them for even covering the story -- as if a star player being AWOL for 13 days and 4 straight games and his coach has not talked to him is somehow off-limits.

Not sure you should ever use anything said on a show like that to get a read on where people are at. Those shows love to take stupid, obviously over-simplistic points of view and pit them against each other, easiest way to get cheap content. Like any trashy reality show.

HotelVitale wrote:

puja21 wrote:

12footrim wrote:I haven't been following any of this, what's going on.

A listener called into Frank Isola's show and scolded them for even covering the story -- as if a star player being AWOL for 13 days and 4 straight games and his coach has not talked to him is somehow off-limits.

Not sure you should ever use anything said on a show like that to get a read on where people are at. Those shows love to take stupid, obviously over-simplistic points of view and pit them against each other, easiest way to get cheap content. Like any trashy reality show.

One example of thousands (including plenty of media), but Isola's guests are 90% recurring callers -- many of them reasonable. It's hardly reality TV caliber

Just think, the article from Joe Varden of The Athletic (print media) is what made this wiretap piece appear

But sure pretend it's not a pulse of how people are covering Kyrie

Is Brooklyn still paying him? He's can't still be getting game checks otherwise he's obviously just trying to game the system. You don't have to play basketball Kyrie, it just means you don't get paid millions.

puja21 wrote:

12footrim wrote:I haven't been following any of this, what's going on.

Nick Wright tweeted Kyrie is on the table for Harden, but even the Rockets aren't interested. How long until Kyrie is working on a statue in China to put next to Starbury's?

SPOT ON.

I've been comparing Kyrie to Steph ever since Kyrie got to Boston. The similarities are staggering:

Comes from a basketball family
One year in the ACC
Demands trade away from an unselfish HOF forward (KG vs. Bron)
Eventually gets to play near hometown/NYC
Can't carry a team alone
Leaves his second team (Steph from NJ to PHX, Kyrie from BOS to Brooklyn) and the successor has more success than he has (Jason Kidd in PHX, Kemba Walker in BOS)

You can even compare how much better Tatum & Brown have done since Kyrie left Boston, in the same way that Amare, Joe Johnson and Marion saw their careers really take off after Nash replaced Marbury.

I remember that, before he was sent to Boston, there was a deal with Phoenix on the table, which would have been even crazy had it gone down.

What a shame.

no player can lead a team to the chip since dirk without a superstar teammate besides steph curry

Cassius wrote:

puja21 wrote:

12footrim wrote:I haven't been following any of this, what's going on.

Nick Wright tweeted Kyrie is on the table for Harden, but even the Rockets aren't interested. How long until Kyrie is working on a statue in China to put next to Starbury's?

SPOT ON.

I've been comparing Kyrie to Steph ever since Kyrie got to Boston. The similarities are staggering:

Comes from a basketball family
One year in the ACC
Demands trade away from an unselfish HOF forward (KG vs. Bron)
Eventually gets to play near hometown/NYC
Can't carry a team alone
Leaves his second team (Steph from NJ to PHX, Kyrie from BOS to Brooklyn) and the successor has more success than he has (Jason Kidd in PHX, Kemba Walker in BOS)

You can even compare how much better Tatum & Brown have done since Kyrie left Boston, in the same way that Amare, Joe Johnson and Marion saw their careers really take off after Nash replaced Marbury.

I remember that, before he was sent to Boston, there was a deal with Phoenix on the table, which would have been even crazy had it gone down.

What a shame.

Kyrie is the typical celebrity who has all the money and fame in the world but isn't completely happy. So they spend their time searching for that happiness. Which is why they usually end up joining churches because they think religion was the one thing they were missing. But in reality they end up hooking up with con artists who just want their money and take advantage of that weakness.

The most ridiculous thing about this whole situation is, if Irving suddenly decides to retire, the Nets will still have to pay him his contract. And the players are the ones complaining about the CBA deal.

Knickstape7 wrote:no player can lead a team to the chip since dirk without a superstar teammate besides steph curry

Klay Thompson was chopped liver? Follow the years that followed he was a superstar right next to Curry. Kind of flawed thinking to say Curry did it all alone but good narrative

Pukovnik wrote:The most ridiculous thing about this whole situation is, if Irving suddenly decides to retire, the Nets will still have to pay him his contract. And the players are the ones complaining about the CBA deal.

Players don't get paid if they retire. The salary stays on that team's salary cap, but the player doesn't receive one cent unless he agrees to some sort of buyout prior to retiring.

CanesHeatFins wrote:

Pukovnik wrote:The most ridiculous thing about this whole situation is, if Irving suddenly decides to retire, the Nets will still have to pay him his contract. And the players are the ones complaining about the CBA deal.

Players don't get paid if they retire. The salary stays on that team's salary cap, but the player doesn't receive one cent unless he agrees to some sort of buyout prior to retiring.

the nets also could have a foundation to make a claim, that they want to terminate the contract, since irving is MIA and hurting the NBA and Nets brand by ignoring saftey protocols, etc.

Kyrie is totally irresponsible and selfish. even if he has a point and his heart is in the right place, thats not the way you go about it.

cheese318 wrote:

Knickstape7 wrote:no player can lead a team to the chip since dirk without a superstar teammate besides steph curry

Klay Thompson was chopped liver? Follow the years that followed he was a superstar right next to Curry. Kind of flawed thinking to say Curry did it all alone but good narrative

1. By "carry a team" I meant simply make/advance in the playoffs
2. Steph has arguably had the greatest, most complementary supporting casts of any HOF player.

The organization prob told Kyrie that the Harden trade was a done deal, and he got pissed and proceeded to ghost the team. He wanted to have his own team, and ended up the third most important player on the team. He'll be requesting a trade to the Knicks by this time next year.

CanesHeatFins wrote:The organization prob told Kyrie that the Harden trade was a done deal, and he got pissed and proceeded to ghost the team. He wanted to have his own team, and ended up the third most important player on the team. He'll be requesting a trade to the Knicks by this time next year.

If it was a done deal days ago. Harden wouldn't have been playing with a risk of an injury. Kyrie is just a weirdo and doesn't know what he wants. It would be hilarious if they end up flipping him at the deadline to get a piece that fits better with Durant and Harden.

Cassius wrote:

puja21 wrote:

12footrim wrote:I haven't been following any of this, what's going on.

Nick Wright tweeted Kyrie is on the table for Harden, but even the Rockets aren't interested. How long until Kyrie is working on a statue in China to put next to Starbury's?

SPOT ON.

I've been comparing Kyrie to Steph ever since Kyrie got to Boston. The similarities are staggering:

Comes from a basketball family
One year in the ACC
Demands trade away from an unselfish HOF forward (KG vs. Bron)
Eventually gets to play near hometown/NYC
Can't carry a team alone
Leaves his second team (Steph from NJ to PHX, Kyrie from BOS to Brooklyn) and the successor has more success than he has (Jason Kidd in PHX, Kemba Walker in BOS)

You can even compare how much better Tatum & Brown have done since Kyrie left Boston, in the same way that Amare, Joe Johnson and Marion saw their careers really take off after Nash replaced Marbury.

I remember that, before he was sent to Boston, there was a deal with Phoenix on the table, which would have been even crazy had it gone down.

What a shame.

Actually, THIS post is spot on.

DubsPhilosophy wrote:Is Brooklyn still paying him? He's can't still be getting game checks otherwise he's obviously just trying to game the system. You don't have to play basketball Kyrie, it just means you don't get paid millions.

LOL

Kyrie is a special kind of arrogant, idiot savant that thinks being an incredible individual basketball player somehow endows him with the ability to be an impactful social justice revolutionary.

He is taking for granted being able to play a child's game for millions and the opportunities it affords him. Maybe he's made enough that he can do that, but if he is really serious about his causes, he needs to realize his money going to these causes is more impactful than being present on a zoom call or cryptic IG posts. He should also realize that his voice will be taken more seriously when and if he behaves like a grown man, which includes showing up for work when you've agreed to a contract for that work, being considerate of your coworkers (i.e., teammates, coaches), etc.