Tag: Nets

Kyrie Irving pledges allegiance to Nets, and ‘managing this franchise’ is now apparently part of his job too

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In October of 2018, Kyrie Irving sat in front of a bunch of Celtics season-ticket holders and pledged to re-sign with Boston “if you guys will have me back.” About eight months later, after basically throwing in the towel on a playoff series, Irving bolted for Brooklyn.

So take it for whatever you feel it’s worth that Irving now says he intends to re-sign with the Brooklyn Nets, who, ironically enough, were just swept out of the playoffs by the Celtics. 

“In terms of my extension, man, I don’t really plan on going anywhere,” Irving said. 

Irving has a $36.5 million player option for next season. Normally, a player of Irving’s stature who is still in the prime of his abilities would decline that option to sign another long-term contract, but given Irving’s unreliability over the years, are the Nets ready to commit to him for another three or four years beyond next season? We’ll see how that plays out, but for now, at Irving’s word, he plans to be in Brooklyn. 

In addition to this grain-of-salt commitment to Kev and the Nets, Irving, who more or less said he considered himself one of the Nets’ head coaches after Steve Nash was hired as the actual coach in September of 2020, now apparently believes his job description also includes “managing this franchise” alongside Kevin Durant and, you know, the actual managers. 

“When I say I’m here with Kev, I think that it really entails us managing this franchise together alongside Joe (Tsai, the owner) and Sean (Marks, the GM) and just our group of family members that we have in our organization,” Irving said. “So it’s not just about me and Kev, I don’t want to make it just about that. We are cornerstones here, but we have Ben, we

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Celtics vs. Nets takeaways: Jayson Tatum’s Game 1 buzzer-beater, final stand show Boston’s best attributes

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The Boston Celtics’ 15-point lead had disappeared, Kyrie Irving had caught fire and there were only 11 seconds to salvage their series opener on Sunday. Derrick White pushed the ball in transition and gave it up to Jaylen Brown, who drove baseline, and, when two Brooklyn Nets cut him off, spun to his left and kicked it out to Marcus Smart. Instead of trying to be the hero, Smart pump-faked, dribbled past the two Nets flying at him and dished it to a cutting Jayson Tatum.

Spin move. Layup. Game. Bedlam. 

“Honestly, I think we all thought Smart was going to shoot it,” Tatum said. “So, last-second shot, just crash the glass; if it doesn’t go in, try to make a play. But when he took that dribble, we just kind of made eye contact. And he made a great pass. I just had to make a layup.”

The game-winner at TD Garden gave Tatum 31 points on 9-for-18 shooting, Smart his sixth assist and the Celtics a 115-114 Game 1 victory. It also gave Boston a massive sigh of relief. 

“Those are the best games,” Tatum said. “The games that are the most rewarding, the most fun, just as a competitor. We’re up 15 and we go down five and … the only thing you gotta do is just try to figure it out.” 

Brooklyn began the fourth quarter down by 11 points. It had committed 14 turnovers, and it had been beaten up on the glass. The Nets took the lead with a 15-2 run, driven primarily by Irving, who scored 18 of his game-high 39 points in the final frame. Irving did his damage on 12-for-20 shooting, with six assists, four steals and five rebounds.

Kevin Durant finished with 23 points on 9-for-24 shooting, with four rebounds,

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2022 NBA trade deadline: Sixers, Nets plan to discuss a Ben Simmons for James Harden deal, per report

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It sounds as though the Philadelphia 76ers may not have to wait until the offseason to trade disgruntled star Ben Simmons after all. Recent reports suggested that the Sixers wanted to wait until more star players were available this summer before exploring a trade centered around Simmons, but The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported on Friday that the Brooklyn Nets are open to discussing a trade ahead of the deadline where James Harden would be sent to Philly in exchange for Simmons.

This is a reverse from recent reports suggesting that Brooklyn did not plan on listening to any trade offers for Harden leading up to the deadline. But according to Charania, there’s a sense of urgency within the Nets’ organization this season, as they view it as a “critical year in Kevin Durant’s prime.” This report comes at a time when the Nets aren’t playing their best basketball. Durant is currently sidelined with a sprained MCL, and during that time Brooklyn has gone just 2-7 and is currently on a six-game losing streak. 

The Nets view a potential Simmons-for-Harden swap as an opportunity to get Brooklyn more depth, with Seth Curry, Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle all being potential add-ons to the deal. However, the Sixers reportedly would not include Maxey in a deal for Harden, per CBS Sports’ Michael Kaskey-Blomain. Philadelphia has been resistant in the past to trade Maxey, most recently when the team looked to acquire Harden originally from the Rockets. But with Joel Embiid playing at an MVP-level again, and the Sixers climbing up to the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference with a 31-20 record, Philadelphia clearly wants to take advantage of this season and almost certainly will be a piece that the Nets ask for in any return for Harden.

Simmons has

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Kyrie Irving practices with Nets, addresses absence: ‘I knew the consequences. I wasn’t prepared for them’

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For the first time since his virtual appearance at media day three months ago, Kyrie Irving spoke to reporters on Wednesday. After practicing with the Brooklyn Nets, Irving — still unvaccinated against COVID-19 and thus ineligible to play in home games (or road games against the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors) — repeatedly told reporters that he is grateful to be back. 

Irving cleared health and safety protocols on Tuesday. Shortly after Irving’s media availability, Mark Levine, a New York City councilman who chairs the council’s health committee, tweeted that there were a record 39,591 new COVID cases in the city on Wednesday, and 770 new hospitalizations. 

“Not going to lie, it’s been relatively tough to watch from the sideline, with everything going on in the world,” Irving said. “I know everybody’s feeling it, so, just praying for everybody to be healthy during these times. But if I get the opportunity to get on the court and play with some of my teammates, and even if it’s just on the road for away games, I’m just grateful for that opportunity.”

Earlier this month, the Nets reversed course on their decision to not let Irving be less than a full participant in the 2020-21 season. Brooklyn has recently had as many as 10 players sidelined because of health and safety protocols, and three of its games have been postponed. In this context, the organization decided it could use a part-time All-Star. 

“I understood their (initial) decision and I respected it,” Irving said. “I really had to sit back and think and try to not become too emotionally attached to what they were deciding to do. I had to sit down and really evaluate things and see it from their perspective, meaning the organization and my teammates.”

Irving said that teammates

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