HoopsHype: NBA front offices are ‘scared to death’ of Kyrie Irving

The Nets will have a hard time finding a trade partner for Kyrie Irving.

Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai says he’s willing to be patient with Kyrie Irving, but with no change to New York City’s vaccine mandate in sight, and with Irving still apparently unwilling to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, the Nets could be facing a full season without one of their best players available.

With Irving missing all team activities but still collecting a hefty paycheck, many analysts and fans have called for the Nets to trade Irving. There’s one big issue with that plan, though – other NBA front offices are reportedly “scared to death” of the seven-time All-Star.

An NBA executive explained to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto that front offices “don’t trust” Irving given his history, which would make it very difficult for the Nets to construct a fair trade.

Via HoopsHype:

“For the most part, every front office and coaching staff is scared to death of him and doesn’t want to touch him,” one NBA executive told HoopsHype. “Honestly, it might’ve been four teams before this (his refusal to get vaccinated). He’s a guy that front offices don’t trust. Coaches don’t want to deal with him. Players like him.”

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