Peregrine01 wrote:I was expecting the Nets to be drama-filled but not like this and not this fast. Kyrie clearly thinks that he answers to no one.
I was at my wit's end with Kyrie before this recent stuff, and I'm with you: I thought the Nets culture would be fragile, but I had thought the danger would come later after the Nets struggled while healthy.
I see Kyrie as a guy who has essentially created his own reality that diverges from the rest of the world and tends to tie itself up in a bow that lets him feel not only right but righteous.
Going into the Bubble last year Kyrie made comments painting himself as a hard core revolutionary in the BLM movement and actively taking issue with those who were still playing basketball and using basketball directly to get a message out. Kyrie seems to think that him just being him is revolutionary, but to me he's a guy who really isn't doing anything for anyone other than himself but is delusional enough to think otherwise.
He's not alone in being like this of course - I'll refrain from getting into politics - he's a product of the times, but there are two things really on my mind right now.
1. It's astonishing to think that he's doing this to Durant RIGHT after they actually got started playing together. I mean, this is the exact situation he chose, and he's f-ing it up immediately without any sense of loyalty to others.
2. I've said before and I'll say again: Kyrie is the kind of guy who could actually become a threat to retire from the NBA and create a rival to the NBA. He couldn't of course making an NBA-sized league, but he wouldn't need to. With a population of young people who like the players more than they like watching 5 on 5 basketball, it's entirely possible that there'd be a market for a 1 on 1 league which Kyrie would do great in. Wouldn't draw the kind of revenue that the NBA has, but of course it wouldn't need to if it's just making money for superstar players with lots of followers.
Should that happen, we could end up in a situation where the NBA loses credibility compared to its former self, sees revenues fall, and then the whole precarious thing might teeter and fall. Pro basketball ain't going anywhere and if the NBA makes smart choices neither will it, but someone like Kyrie is a danger.
Last note: If you're thought is "C'mon, Kyrie could never actually work to get anything done like that!", you're right of course, but he may not need to personally competent if he's surrounded by others who are.