Kyrie Irving is SCRATCHED by Nets due to a ‘sore calf’ following trade demand

By James On Feb 4, 2023

Kyrie Irving was cut from the Brooklyn Nets’ game on Saturday because of what the team calls “calf soreness,” thus preserving the point guard’s health ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.

Nets coach Jacques Vaughn said Irving reported calf pain before Saturday’s game against Washington.

Injury news aside, the decision to sit Irving comes after his trade suit was reported Friday, and it could serve a number of purposes for Brooklyn. In addition to ensuring Irving stays healthy in the event of a trade, the calf issue also means the disgruntled All-Star can skip media availability before and after the game. In other words, Irving can avoid any awkward conversations with head writers amid trade rumours.

The fourth-place Nets (31-20) host the visiting Washington Wizards (24-27) on Saturday, a day after Irving demanded a trade from Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks. The request comes less than a week before the trade deadline and possibly signals the end of his tenure with the franchise, either then or after he ends this season, when he becomes a free agent.

Lakers fans, eager to see struggling guard Russell Westbrook for Irving, were quick to point out that both players are out of Saturday’s games. Westbrook, who would likely be involved in any Lakers trade for Irving, is battling a non-COVID illness, according to the team.

Kyrie Irving was pulled from the Nets’ game on Saturday because of what the team calls a “sore calf,” thus preserving the point guard’s health before Thursday’s trade deadline.

And Lakers fans aren’t the only ones interested in bringing Irving to Los Angeles. His former teammate, LeBron James, reacted to Irving’s trade demand on Twitter with the ‘eyeballs’ emoji.

The Lakers are the most intriguing trade option given Irving’s history with James, his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate. The two won a title together in Cleveland, coming back from a 3-1 Finals deficit against the Golden State Warriors in 2016 to capture the club’s first championship, but the relationship fizzled out soon after.

Irving finally asked for a trade in 2017, and the team complied, sending him to the Boston Celtics. As ESPN reported at the time, the New Jersey native no longer wanted to play alongside James, citing a desire to be the focal point of a team. The two have remained hospitable when facing each other on the court and are usually seen greeting each other with a hug.

The main hurdle in bringing Irving to the Lakers will be the Nets’ asking price, which is likely to be more than Westbrook, a former MVP who has struggled since arriving in Los Angeles in 2021. Besides Westbrook, it’s likely that the The Lakers need to include at least two future first-round picks in any deal for Irving, and he may be forced to accept some unwanted contracts from Brooklyn.

Irving made the request after talks about a new contract were not to his liking, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the talks were to remain private. He was first reported by ESPN and The Athletic.

Irving is eligible for a contract extension, but the Nets refused to give it to him last summer. Irving’s agent and stepmother, Shetellia Irving, told Bleacher Report last week that she had reached out to the Nets regarding a new deal. Kyrie Irving, whose current contract with the Nets expires after this season, is eligible for a four-year contract worth up to $200 million.

“I’ve reached out to the Nets regarding this,” Shetellia Irving told Bleacher Report. ‘We have not had meaningful conversations to date. The desire is to make Brooklyn their home, with the right kind of stretch, which means the ball is in the Nets’ court to communicate now if their desire is the same.

And Lakers fans aren’t the only ones interested in bringing Irving to Los Angeles. His former teammate LeBron James reacted to Irving’s trade demand on Twitter with the ‘eyeballs’ emoji

Irving and the Nets were thought to be moving toward a long-term extension in 2021 when Kevin Durant signed one. Instead, Irving proved unreliable, missing games for non-basketball reasons, and the Nets changed their minds about securing a long future with the point guard.

The Nets, coming off a 43-point loss at Boston on Wednesday, open a five-game homestand on Saturday against Washington. Irving is not listed on his injury report, which means he is available to play. They play six of their last seven games before the All-Star break at home; the only ‘visit’ game in that stretch is at the New York Knicks.

But whether Irving will be a part of any of that is unclear right now.

A tweet was posted on Irving’s account shortly before the first reports of the trade request came out; as is often the case with Irving when it comes to social media posts, he wasn’t sure what exactly he was referring to in that post.

‘To my colleagues: BE YOURSELF and GROW! Keep people around who wholeheartedly CELEBRATE YOU and appreciate all the hard work that goes into it. Distance yourself from people who manipulate, hate and hurt,” the tweet read.

Brooklyn is 31-20 this season, fourth in the Eastern Conference standings entering Friday, and is 4-7 since fellow All-Star Durant hurt his knee in a game in Miami on June 8. January. Durant could return during this homestand, as he’s on record saying he wants to play in the All-Star Game on February 19, so presumably he’ll be back with the Nets before then.

Irving (left) and the Nets were thought to be moving toward a long-term extension in 2021 when Kevin Durant (right) signed one. Instead, Irving proved unreliable, missing games for non-basketball reasons, and the Nets changed their thoughts about securing a long future with the point guard.

Irving is playing well in Durant’s absence, averaging 30.3 points in the last 10 games. That might interest teams that were reluctant to make a deal for Irving last summer, when he acknowledged he didn’t find much of a market because of his apparent unreliability.

Durant had also asked the Nets for a trade last summer, before a cool head took hold. And it was at this time last year that Brooklyn traded James Harden, who was part of what the Nets thought would be a Big Three of him, Durant and Irving, to the Philadelphia 76ers in a deal that brought Ben Simmons to Brooklyn. .

Whatever happens between now and Thursday, this is officially the start of another new saga surrounding Irving, who signed with his hometown team along with Durant in the summer of 2019.

He was suspended by the Nets for what became eight games earlier this season after the team said it was dismayed by his repeated failure to “say unequivocally that he doesn’t have anti-Semitic beliefs.” That came shortly after Irving refused to issue the apology that NBA commissioner Adam Silver sought for posting a link to an anti-Semitic piece of work on his Twitter account. Irving also ended up losing his longstanding relationship with Nike as part of the massive fallout from what he tweeted and the backlash that followed.

The 30-year-old sparked controversy by tweeting a link to the Amazon page for the 2018 film ‘Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America’.

“I don’t stand for anything like hate speech or anti-Semitism or anything that goes against the human race,” Irving said the day he was reinstated by the Nets in November.

Irving also missed much of the 2021-22 season due to his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19, essentially leaving him ineligible to play in Brooklyn home games for much of the season due to league rules. New York City established in response to the pandemic

He has also expressed many controversial opinions during his career, including repeatedly questioning whether the Earth was round before apologizing to science teachers.

Irving also sat out during the 20-21 season, and general manager Sean Marks said last summer that being available to play would be something the organization would consider as it weighed an extension for Irving.