We are not going to win a championship this year

[GYK]

I pray he doesn’t go. He’s just as good as Durant and just as important to our title window.
The FO ****’d up the easiest build ever. The premier hub player in the league and the most portable superstar ever and they built the wrong roster. Talking about shedding salary. Rookies with talks of now and the future(which has never happened and never will. the hubris of building a 8th seed in the weakest era of the weaker conference). Talks of SSOL working(if Blake and Paul shot don’t start falling like 5 players of the planned rotation become useless). Year 2 with literally the same problems as year one(lack of defense and rebounding) now without shooters. Kyrie yearly attention seeking(that man a 3rd teamer who popularity always surpassed his place in the league).
I pray he stays but I hope he flex his position to get this god damn FO to make the correct moves. Like it’s insanity it’s not the 2018 Rockets with Durant.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Honestly Marks will be a failure if we don't win a Championship.

Yes he did an amazing job of digging us out of the dirt. And making us a playoff team.

But what has he really done to build a contender?

KD/Kyrie literally fell into his lap. He had nothing to do with it.

The biggest decision he had to make was the coach. Which he failed at miserably.

And the Harden trade was basically engineered by Durant/Harden.

Roster construction has been ok. But lack of shooting has been glaring to me.

[Prokorov]

Bit of an overreaction MDB.

Were not playing well right now. And were still .5 games back of the 1 seed.

With KD and Harden we still have the most talent of any team. And I'm not betting against those guys in a 7 game series. Regardless of how bad we can look in the RS.

The other thing is who exactly looks scary right now?

-The Warriors seem to be falling apart
-Bulls are losing
-Heat do not have a top 10 player on their roster
-Bucks are losing too
-Phoenix doesn't have anyone on the level or KD/Harden

And thats all assuming we can't get Kyrie playing home games. I think there is a solid chance the city changes its rules by the playoffs.

We need to weather the storm without KD. Make some moves around the edges at the buyout market.

The only team that really scares me still is Milwaukee. And last time we had KD/Ky we embarrassed them until injury.

Hello Brooklyn continues to be the voice of reason.

While I have my concerns about coaching and health being hurdles to a title, and specifically worry about facing a tough miami team with an elite coach, it is far from us being doomed as some 2nd round fodder.

We are in better shape then we were this time last year. (3+ out of first with KD battling a worse injury).

The Kyrie stuff is mostly just noise. the NYC mandate will end at some point, and based on the numbers it looks like sooner rather then later.

[Prokorov]

What do people expect Kai to say when asked the question "does KD being out change your willingness to get the vaccine?"

Any answer he gives in the affirmative is just going to lead to him being badgered more. I sincerely believe this team as constructed is enough to win it all. Yes there is a chance that Kai may still only be available for road games in the playoffs. Yes there's a chance that any one of the big 3 might be out due to be ridden into the ground by Nash to compensate for ineptitude. Yes there's a chance we don't make it to the conference finals. Yes there's a chance that Harden bolts.

What move involving the big 3 would make us better or raise our ceiling?

These last few years with the pandemic are month to month. Go ahead and put any predictions you have for June-July in the rubbish bin. You'll be happier.

Yea, I mean I thought he put it in perspective.

-Its a non basketball decision
-it wont be effected by whats happening on the court/with the team, since its not a basketball decision

Which makes perfect sense (the logic, not his vaccine stance). KD hurt, KD not hurt. its a decision that is unrelated. KD gets it, his teammates get it. Marks and the Tsais seem to get it. Fans are too removed. they look at these guys not as people having lives but as players.

[Prokorov]

Let’s see, if Kyrie wasn’t a ball player, he would be irrelevant. People PAY to watch the games in arenas, people PAY to watch a performance. Just because it’s a hobby and people want to unwind, he makes it seem like we can’t have a hobby of enjoying the game or watching it. I’m sick of hearing about how it’s not their life. It has impacted the team. If you are not into basketball, why not reitre?! I don’t want to hear him regurgitate the same garbage over and over and sound like a damn fool in the process. This is their damn livelihood too. He is far from a voice for the voiceless and a beacon of light. More like a damn head case. When Harden walks and KD regrets his decision, then we go back to square one. To protest something or a pathetic mandate, which it is, it has to be done collectively, not individually. He isn’t changing ****.

Kyrie is very much into basketball. he clearly kept in shape, was going to games, was in contact with teammates and loves to play. People need to stop thinking of these guys as basketball robots.

Sometimes... MANY times, 2 things you care about deeply are in conflict and you need to choose 1 or the other. it doesnt mean you dont care or love the thing you didnt choose. you were put in a crappy spot. Kyrie not getting vaccinated doesnt mean he doesnt care about ball or his teammates (Again, listen to how KD addressed this on his podcast after kyrie came back to play road games a couple weeks ago)

Kyrie is 0% in the wrong.

He has broken 0 laws, 0 rules, given 0 pushback on the team as far as fining him or preventing him from playing road games. You can disagree with his stance on getting vaccinated, but dude did nothing wrong. he made a personal health decision and is dealing with the constraints of that decision.

You can say its "selfish" he puts his choice before the team. i say its selfish for the fans/media to ask a guy to put their beliefs and choices second so that fans can be entertained. And im positive he teammates view it that way too. Because they all go through that song and dance. especially a megastar like KD.

if you dont want to pay to see the nets cause Kyrie is out, you are not forced to. Just because you pay to watch Kyrie play doesnt give you the authority to make health choices for him. This is still America

[Prokorov]

Read on Twitter

This quote is taken grossly out of context. the full quote is with regards to his personal choices. "basketball and basketball fans dont matter when it comes to make life decisions outside basketball" Which is not some wild statement.

Prok, if you're perfectly fine with this guy flushing the team's championship aspirations down the toilet, good on you. [/quote]

He isnt doing that in my mind. He has no control over the NY Mandate. I also view nash as 100 times a bigger issue then Kyrie as far as title hopes.

Kyrie has every right to hold his ground, and we have every right not to like what it is doing to our basketball team. We're not here for any other reason but basketball, so at this point I don't want to hear crap about how basketball isn't their life. You either want to win, or you don't. Right now, the guy I KNOW who wants to win is James Harden. Kyrie, I definitely know he doesn't give a flying f*ck and seems like KD doesn't either.

The idea KD and Kyrie dont want to win is silly to me. They just view their lives through reality and not through the lense where there entire life is based on basketball. I love Harden, but the idea he wants to "win more" or is some elite teammate is abusurd. the same guy who bailed on his team in houston? the same guy who has to play himself into shape every year and is in clubs eating wings at 3 am most nights? Again, im fine with Harden, but lets not pretend his dedication to winning is in the Jordan/Kobe stratosphere.

Fact is, we're not going to win, and Harden is going to leave. This stuff just doesn't get put out there for no reason. If Philly believes that they have a legit chance of stealing him away, it's because his agent has let them know.

Part of it is how woefully unprepared Nash is to be a head coach. But Kyrie doing this is far, far more damaging to this team's success.

I dont think Kyrie has done anything. he has no control of the NY mandates.

[Sharcm1]

My major concern with making the harden deal was always what happened if the nets didn’t win the chip with them last year or this year and they all walked. Thank god Durant signed long term. But with harden and Irving’s situations it’s hard to see them both staying. For all of Kyrie’s issues harden has played like crap all season. His effort has been lacking. His turn over at crucial moments happen almost every game and his defense has been horrible. Idk if this is harden protesting the Irving thing or a prelude to escape the nets or his decline in form from age. Any of them kinda screw the nets though. They traded their future picks for many more years to come not to mention other promising players to get this guy. If he doesn’t play well in the playoffs. If he doesn’t stay long term he nets are screwed

[3pt_chucker]

This is big reason why the Nets didn't want Kyrie as a part time player. Interactions like yesterday will keep happening and the team will be in drama until Kyrie can play home games.

We already got a peek that Harden is upset at Kyrie when he joked "I'll give him the shot if I have too". Harden is smart and measured during pressers (especially after all the China stuff) so he didn't say that by accident. As MDB pointed out, Harden sacrificed his hamstring last season, showing his dedication to winning and it seems that KAI doesn't share that. This is not what he envisioned when he said "Scary Hours". There is no way he's happy and you can kinda see that with his on court demeanor.

I have no faith/little reason to believe the mandates will actually change by the playoffs. Another variant is very likely to appear between now and the playoffs, which would keep it in place. Everything that Mayor Adams has done shows that he is a hard liner when it comes to the mandates/Covid. Additionally, it seems like the exemption and paying fines for home appearances are also out the window. It's getting more and more obvious that Kyrie will never get vaxxed and he won't be available for home games. If that is true, the Nets have to make a move. Team will be in turmoil until this situation gets fixed and with a limited HC, a championship seems bleak.

Lastly just want to point out that Kyrie saying that the vax has nothing to do with basketball is utterly ridiculous, since his main source of income is to play basketball and him not being vaxxed, impacts his "life" directly. This is not surprising tho, since he never wants to take direct responsibility for his actions.

[Prokorov]

My major concern with making the harden deal was always what happened if the nets didn’t win the chip with them last year or this year and they all walked. Thank god Durant signed long term. But with harden and Irving’s situations it’s hard to see them both staying. For all of Kyrie’s issues harden has played like crap all season. His effort has been lacking. His turn over at crucial moments happen almost every game and his defense has been horrible. Idk if this is harden protesting the Irving thing or a prelude to escape the nets or his decline in form from age. Any of them kinda screw the nets though. They traded their future picks for many more years to come not to mention other promising players to get this guy. If he doesn’t play well in the playoffs. If he doesn’t stay long term he nets are screwed

Harden playing "like crap" is an absurd statement. He has played at worst at "all-star starter" level and probably closer to 3rd team all-NBA.

23/10/8 on 59 TS%. and that is despite an awful first couple weeks. And led us to multiple wins with KD/Kyrie out.

Kyrie also isnt leaving. he opts in and/or resigns a long deal. he doesnt want to be anywhere but home/close to his family.

Also, even worst case the nets are not "Screwed". we rebuilt from a far worse scenario and just gave us credibility by landing huge stars for future free agency periods. even the worst case of durant over 4 years is a playoff relevant team. We owe 3 picks + 3 pick swaps. the 1st swap already did not convey. the next 1-2 are unlikely to as well. the pick we give up this year will be 25-30 range. (the equivolent of Dayron Sharpe)

[Prokorov]

Lastly just want to point out that Kyrie saying that the vax has nothing to do with basketball is utterly ridiculous, since his main source of income is to play basketball and him not being vaxxed, directly impacts his "life" directly. This is not surprising tho, since he never wants to take direct responsibility for his actions.

1) it is not his main source if income. he makes more from his non-endorsement business ventures then he does his salary + nike endorsements.

2) it doesn't have anything to do with basketball. it is his personal life decision.

3) he takes tons of accountability. admits he is wrong, apologizes. much more so then most stars. he apologized for things in cleveland, boston, with the nets.

This is not something he needs to apologize for. he didnt create covid in a lab and unleash it on the world. he is a victim of the pandemic like all of us.

[3pt_chucker]

Lastly just want to point out that Kyrie saying that the vax has nothing to do with basketball is utterly ridiculous, since his main source of income is to play basketball and him not being vaxxed, directly impacts his "life" directly. This is not surprising tho, since he never wants to take direct responsibility for his actions.

1) it is not his main source if income. he makes more from his non-endorsement business ventures then he does his salary + nike endorsements.

2) it doesn't have anything to do with basketball. it is his personal life decision.

3) he takes tons of accountability. admits he is wrong, apologizes. much more so then most stars. he apologized for things in cleveland, boston, with the nets.

This is not something he needs to apologize for. he didn't create covid in a lab and unleash it on the world. he is a victim of the pandemic like all of us.

1) A bit of a fallacy here, since most of his non-NBA income is tied to his NBA performance/stature. Even so, what non-endorsement business ventures does he have that pays him more than his NBA contract? Do you have actual numbers/estimates or just hearsay? (genuinely asking).

2) That is literally not true since it affects his ability to play basketball in the NBA. It's not just a personal one since it directly affects his main source of guaranteed income.

3) Apology =/= Accountability. Might be semantics but they are two different things. Saying sorry is different from saying you were the main cause for the said thing you are apologizing for. Happens all the time with people who are a bit selfish and/or narcissistic and/or people who lack broader perspective on things. (I was obviously using hyperbole when I said "never", nothing is ever truly 100% anything)

Lastly, I did not say he should apologize for not getting vaxxed. Just own up to it and stop saying nonsense like bigger that basketball blah blah buzz words, to try to make it a noble act, when in all objectivity, it really isn't. He made himself a bigger "victim" by not taking a highly safe vaccine. "Voice for the voiceless" BS he said doesn't make sense, as he's not actually doing anything for said "victims". We still don't really know his reason for not getting it btw.

[MrDollarBills]

The idea KD and Kyrie dont want to win is silly to me. They just view their lives through reality and not through the lense where there entire life is based on basketball. I love Harden, but the idea he wants to "win more" or is some elite teammate is abusurd. the same guy who bailed on his team in houston? the same guy who has to play himself into shape every year and is in clubs eating wings at 3 am most nights? Again, im fine with Harden, but lets not pretend his dedication to winning is in the Jordan/Kobe stratosphere.

If Kyrie wanted to win, he'd get vaccinated and make himself available for home games and games in arenas where he will be banned. Everything else is irrelevant. He doesn't care about winning. That's his right, but no one else has to like or respect it.

Harden played on one leg for us in the playoffs. You have zero right to question how dedicated he is. He did everything that he has had to do to make himself available for this team and to work towards the common goal. Kyrie has not.

[Prokorov]

1) A bit of a fallacy here, since most of his non-NBA income is tied to his NBA performance/stature. Even so, what non-endorsement business ventures does he have that pays him more than his NBA contract? Do you have actual numbers/estimates or just hearsay? (genuinely asking).

He has a huge stake in beyond meat. They have a 2 billion valuation and made 500 billion last year. I'll find the article but it was on athletes who may become billionaires due to transcending sports and growing their wealth through ventures. His production company has made several films and is a big part of his worth and revenue as well. He has been EP on several documentaries ('brionna talyor say her name') as well as a full motion picture "skirvin motel". These are big money projects too i guess.

2) That is literally not true since it affects his ability to play basketball in the NBA. It's not just a personal one since it directly affects his main source of guaranteed income.

it isnt his main source of guaranteed income. i dont even think its his top 3. unless you count endorsements, but nike didnt/wont drop him regardless of playing status. since his merch is so globally popular.

in either event, its not basketball rellated. the mandate prevents him from playing. his choice wasnt influenced by what goes on a basketball court or the income. he doesnt need basketball money.

3) Apology =/= Accountability. Might be semantics but they are two different things. Saying sorry is different from saying you were the main cause for the said thing you are apologizing for. Happens all the time with people who are a bit selfish and/or narcissistic and/or people who lack broader perspective on things. (I was obviously using hyperbole when I said "never", nothing is ever truly 100% anything)

he wasnt the main cause in those instances. he was part of a larger problem.

Lastly, I did not say he should apologize for not getting vaxxed. Just own up to it and stop saying nonsense like bigger that basketball blah blah buzz words, to try to make it a noble act, when in all objectivity, it really isn't. He made himself a bigger "victim" by not taking a highly safe vaccine. "Voice for the voiceless" BS he said doesn't make sense, as he's not actually doing anything for said "victims". We still don't really know his reason for not getting it btw.

it is bigger then basketball. your personal health choices and real world family/life stuff always is.

if he lived in 48 other states this would be a non issue.

[Prokorov]

If Kyrie wanted to win, he'd get vaccinated and make himself available for home games and games in arenas where he will be banned. Everything else is irrelevant. He doesn't care about winning. That's his right, but no one else has to like or respect it.

we know this isnt true because he does care about winning and is not vaccinated. Again, when 2 things important to you are in contrast and you need to choose, it does not mean you now only care about one of them.

Classic scenario for this is a mother about to give birth but is having complications and the delivery may kill her. The family decides to abort and spare risk to the mother.

does that mean the family "didnt care about the baby". of course not. 2 things important to them were in contrast.

Kyrie clearly cares alot about basketball and alot about his body/what goes in it. if he got vaccinated it still wouldnt mean he doesnt care about what he puts in his body, just like not getting vaccinated doesnt mean he doesnt care about winning

Harden played on one leg for us in the playoffs. You have zero right to question how dedicated he is. He did everything that he has had to do to make himself available for this team and to work towards the common goal. Kyrie has not.

Harden has bailed on his team in the past. he refused to play to force himself out of houston to play here. he has constantly come into seasons out of shape. even "in shape" he could use more conditioning. he could improve his ability on the defensive end. this is not a dude who eats,sleeps and drinks basketball and basketball only like Kobe. doesnt mean he doesnt care. he does, alot. but lets not pretend this dude just works. he is out late, in clubs, eating wings, coming in out of shape.

He played hurt. thats awesome. so do alot of guys. it doesnt mean he cares more about winning. Harden has not shown that he will stay dedicated when in conflict to other things important to him. which is the situation with irving now. if it was just playing through injury im sure kyrie would be on the floor. we saw it in cleveland in the finals and it probably cost him half a season the next year.

The narrative harden is uber dedicated amazing teammate less then 24 months from when he refused to play, bail on his teammates and sat out getting fat demanding a trade is.... interesting.

Also, how "dedicated" are you if you are already looking into other options mid-way through your season with the Nets when we are .5 games out of first place? Somehow considering playing for another team while udner contract here is the pinnacle of dedication? Wouldnt dedication be saying im here for the long haul, this dude can F around but im here and im dedicated to the nets"... you know.. kind of like KD?

[Jay555]

Read on Twitter

The idea KD and Kyrie dont want to win is silly to me. They just view their lives through reality and not through the lense where there entire life is based on basketball. I love Harden, but the idea he wants to "win more" or is some elite teammate is abusurd. the same guy who bailed on his team in houston? the same guy who has to play himself into shape every year and is in clubs eating wings at 3 am most nights? Again, im fine with Harden, but lets not pretend his dedication to winning is in the Jordan/Kobe stratosphere.

Prok, you donot question Harden’s desire to win a chip at this point in time. He scarified money, personal accolades etc in the hope of getting a chip.

It’s not about his dedication to winning is at Jordan & Kobe level which he will never be. It’s about at this point of his career he needs a chip more than anything. There is less desire for Ky and KD as they both have rings, not saying they are not dedicated to winning. But it’s a different thing.

I would rate our players desire to win a chip from most to least as below.

Harden > Blake > Aldridge > KD > Mills > Kyrie

What Kyrie said in relation to Vaccine status does hurt those old vets(Blake & Aldridge) a bit, but it’s what it is.

We can only hope for the best at this point.

[3pt_chucker]

1) A bit of a fallacy here, since most of his non-NBA income is tied to his NBA performance/stature. Even so, what non-endorsement business ventures does he have that pays him more than his NBA contract? Do you have actual numbers/estimates or just hearsay? (genuinely asking).

He has a huge stake in beyond meat. They have a 2 billion valuation and made 500 billion last year. I'll find the article but it was on athletes who may become billionaires due to transcending sports and growing their wealth through ventures. His production company has made several films and is a big part of his worth and revenue as well. He has been EP on several documentaries ('brionna talyor say her name') as well as a full motion picture "skirvin motel". These are big money projects too i guess.

2) That is literally not true since it affects his ability to play basketball in the NBA. It's not just a personal one since it directly affects his main source of guaranteed income.

it isnt his main source of guaranteed income. i dont even think its his top 3. unless you count endorsements, but nike didnt/wont drop him regardless of playing status. since his merch is so globally popular.

in either event, its not basketball rellated. the mandate prevents him from playing. his choice wasnt influenced by what goes on a basketball court or the income. he doesnt need basketball money.

3) Apology =/= Accountability. Might be semantics but they are two different things. Saying sorry is different from saying you were the main cause for the said thing you are apologizing for. Happens all the time with people who are a bit selfish and/or narcissistic and/or people who lack broader perspective on things. (I was obviously using hyperbole when I said "never", nothing is ever truly 100% anything)

he wasnt the main cause in those instances. he was part of a larger problem.

Lastly, I did not say he should apologize for not getting vaxxed. Just own up to it and stop saying nonsense like bigger that basketball blah blah buzz words, to try to make it a noble act, when in all objectivity, it really isn't. He made himself a bigger "victim" by not taking a highly safe vaccine. "Voice for the voiceless" BS he said doesn't make sense, as he's not actually doing anything for said "victims". We still don't really know his reason for not getting it btw.

it is bigger then basketball. your personal health choices and real world family/life stuff always is.

if he lived in 48 other states this would be a non issue.

1) After some light research:
a) He has an undisclosed stake in BM(who's stock has fell 44% this last year). Who know how much he'll actually make from this eventually -non guaranteed
b) BM revenue was ~ $364M from Q1-3 2021. Not sure where you are getting those number from... They are estimated to reach $1B in revenue by end of yr 2022 but that's an optimistic estimation. Far more likely to be in the $600M range...
c) Kyrie has a production company?? Do you have insider info?
d) The Skirvin Hotel project is an old project most likely on ice due to covid... He's unvaxxed, so that will cause problems as many actors/movies etc need to get vaxxed to perform depending on the production company etc..
e) Most of his non-NBA salary money comes from endorsements which are tied to him playing and will be less relevant if he stops.

In summation, whether he likes it or not, he needs basketball. He's not LBJ/KD level where they are essentially corporations. Far from it actually. He needs to play if he wants to keep making the same amount of money in the short term.

2) If mandates stop him from playing, then it's relevant. Just because you try to do mental gymnastics to say it's not does not make it true. As in point #1, most of his income is tied to him playing basketball. If he retires right now, he becomes immediately less relevant.

Regardless of his motivations, the outcome of not getting vaxxed is not playing home games, so affects his bottom line, thus making it not a personal decision, since it does not affect only him. Really not that hard to grasp.

3) He plays in NYC!! Who cares about the other states??? If he's on the Nets he can't play in Brooklyn, which is all that matters.

[MrDollarBills]

Lastly, I did not say he should apologize for the not getting vaxxed. Just own up to it and stop saying nonsense like bigger that basketball blah blah buzz words, to try to make it a noble act, when in all objectivity, it really isn't. He made himself a bigger "victim" by not taking a highly safe vaccine. "Voice for the voiceless" BS he said doesn't make sense, as he's not actually doing anything for said "victims". We still don't really know his reason for not getting it btw.

Exactly. He's a hypocrite. Something is always "bigger than basketball" yet basketball has afforded him a life of privilege and generational wealth. Kyrie is so full of crap, half the time it would be better if the Nets made him unavailable to the media because he starts putting his foot in his mouth which causes more drama.

We know what his reasons are, as per the Rolling Stone article: baseless conspiracy theory nonsense.

[MrDollarBills]

If Kyrie wanted to win, he'd get vaccinated and make himself available for home games and games in arenas where he will be banned. Everything else is irrelevant. He doesn't care about winning. That's his right, but no one else has to like or respect it.

we know this isnt true because he does care about winning and is not vaccinated. Again, when 2 things important to you are in contrast and you need to choose, it does not mean you now only care about one of them.

Classic scenario for this is a mother about to give birth but is having complications and the delivery may kill her. The family decides to abort and spare risk to the mother.

does that mean the family "didnt care about the baby". of course not. 2 things important to them were in contrast.

Kyrie clearly cares alot about basketball and alot about his body/what goes in it. if he got vaccinated it still wouldnt mean he doesnt care about what he puts in his body, just like not getting vaccinated doesnt mean he doesnt care about winning

Harden played on one leg for us in the playoffs. You have zero right to question how dedicated he is. He did everything that he has had to do to make himself available for this team and to work towards the common goal. Kyrie has not.

Harden has bailed on his team in the past. he refused to play to force himself out of houston to play here. he has constantly come into seasons out of shape. even "in shape" he could use more conditioning. he could improve his ability on the defensive end. this is not a dude who eats,sleeps and drinks basketball and basketball only like Kobe. doesnt mean he doesnt care. he does, alot. but lets not pretend this dude just works. he is out late, in clubs, eating wings, coming in out of shape.

He played hurt. thats awesome. so do alot of guys. it doesnt mean he cares more about winning. Harden has not shown that he will stay dedicated when in conflict to other things important to him. which is the situation with irving now. if it was just playing through injury im sure kyrie would be on the floor. we saw it in cleveland in the finals and it probably cost him half a season the next year.

The narrative harden is uber dedicated amazing teammate less then 24 months from when he refused to play, bail on his teammates and sat out getting fat demanding a trade is.... interesting.

Also, how "dedicated" are you if you are already looking into other options mid-way through your season with the Nets when we are .5 games out of first place? Somehow considering playing for another team while udner contract here is the pinnacle of dedication? Wouldnt dedication be saying im here for the long haul, this dude can F around but im here and im dedicated to the nets"... you know.. kind of like KD?

Harden wanted out of Houston because the owner sucks and continued to strip down the team to get out of the luxury tax. Once he came here he has been 100% professional and a leader on this club. He was playing MVP Level basketball before he pulled his hammy. You cannot question his desire and dedication to winning.

If he is considering playing for Philly because a) Kyrie is derailing the season and b) Nash is an idiot, I don't blame him. Because this is a bunch of foolishness. Kyrie doesn't want to win, and KD doesn't either if he's fine with this part time crap.

Also, Harden isn't friends with Kyrie like KD is. KD is willing to let Kyrie derail everything. Harden isn't. The dude even "jokingly" said that he would give Kyrie the shot himself.

You'll have a hard time convincing anyone to side with Kyrie over Harden. Kyrie bailed on this franchise the moment he decided that he's scared of a f*cking needle

[Prokorov]

1) A bit of a fallacy here, since most of his non-NBA income is tied to his NBA performance/stature. Even so, what non-endorsement business ventures does he have that pays him more than his NBA contract? Do you have actual numbers/estimates or just hearsay? (genuinely asking).

He has a huge stake in beyond meat. They have a 2 billion valuation and made 500 billion last year. I'll find the article but it was on athletes who may become billionaires due to transcending sports and growing their wealth through ventures. His production company has made several films and is a big part of his worth and revenue as well. He has been EP on several documentaries ('brionna talyor say her name') as well as a full motion picture "skirvin motel". These are big money projects too i guess.

2) That is literally not true since it affects his ability to play basketball in the NBA. It's not just a personal one since it directly affects his main source of guaranteed income.

it isnt his main source of guaranteed income. i dont even think its his top 3. unless you count endorsements, but nike didnt/wont drop him regardless of playing status. since his merch is so globally popular.

in either event, its not basketball rellated. the mandate prevents him from playing. his choice wasnt influenced by what goes on a basketball court or the income. he doesnt need basketball money.

3) Apology =/= Accountability. Might be semantics but they are two different things. Saying sorry is different from saying you were the main cause for the said thing you are apologizing for. Happens all the time with people who are a bit selfish and/or narcissistic and/or people who lack broader perspective on things. (I was obviously using hyperbole when I said "never", nothing is ever truly 100% anything)

he wasnt the main cause in those instances. he was part of a larger problem.

Lastly, I did not say he should apologize for not getting vaxxed. Just own up to it and stop saying nonsense like bigger that basketball blah blah buzz words, to try to make it a noble act, when in all objectivity, it really isn't. He made himself a bigger "victim" by not taking a highly safe vaccine. "Voice for the voiceless" BS he said doesn't make sense, as he's not actually doing anything for said "victims". We still don't really know his reason for not getting it btw.

it is bigger then basketball. your personal health choices and real world family/life stuff always is.

if he lived in 48 other states this would be a non issue.

1) After some light research:
a) He has an undisclosed stake in BM(who's stock has fell 44% this last year). Who know how much he'll actually make from this eventually -non guaranteed
b) BM revenue was ~ $364M from Q1-3 2021. Not sure where you are getting those number from... They are estimated to reach $1B in revenue by end of yr 2022 but that's an optimistic estimation. Far more likely to be in the $600M range...
c) Kyrie has a production company?? Do you have insider info?
d) The Skirvin Hotel project is an old project most likely on ice due to covid... He's unvaxxed, so that will cause problems as many actors/movies etc need to get vaxxed to perform depending on the production company etc..
e) Most of his non-NBA salary money comes from endorsements which are tied to him playing and will be less relevant if he stops.

In summation, whether he likes it or not, he needs basketball. He's not LBJ/KD level where they are essentially corporations. Far from it actually. He needs to play if he wants to keep making the same amount of money in the short term.

2) If mandates stop him from playing, then it's relevant. Just because you try to do mental gymnastics to say it's not does not make it true. As in point #1, most of his income is tied to him playing basketball. If he retires right now, he becomes immediately less relevant.

Regardless of his motivations, the outcome of not getting vaxxed is not playing home games, so affects his bottom line, thus making it not a personal decision, since it does not affect only him. Really not that hard to grasp.

3) He plays in NYC!! Who cares about the other states??? If he's on the Nets he can't play in Brooklyn, which is all that matters.

His basketball income is irrelevant. he didnt bat an eye at losing 17 million. he isnt a rookie. he has made a ton already

[CalamityX12]

James Harden came back to play on one leg in the playoffs....

Kyrie stays in his incoherent world....

Smh