Kyrie Irving’s blunt message to anyone criticizing him as a leader

Kyrie Irving doubles down after making polarizing comments about the Nets’ issues.

Earlier this week, Kyrie Irving made headlines after he talked about the “glaring” needs after he delivered a 6-of-21 shooting performance in a loss to the 76ers.

Now, Irving is back with more. Instead of taking a step back and seeing how his comments could be perceived negatively by the teammates he’s playing with, he’s leaning in and taking shots at the media for calling him out and not understanding his leadership strategy.

He spoke to the media after practice on Friday and went in. This was his explanation.

“I’ve earned that respect, in terms of how great I am as a player. And there are still more goals that I want to accomplish in this league and I can’t do it without improving an organization and winning a championship and that’s what it comes down to. 

So, I’m going to continue push and I’m going to demand greatness out of myself and demand greatness out of my teammates and we go from there. If it’s harsh as a leader or it’s too much for anybody, you’re not in our locker room. Stay the [expletive] out.” 

These comments just show that Irving missed the entire point of the criticisms lobbed at him the other night.

The Nets lost a completely winnable game. In that game, Irving’s plus/minus was -29. He shot 6-21 from the field and was completely invisible down the stretch of that game.

Irving didn’t seem to realize that he is the help the Nets needed. He was brought in to bring the Nets to the next level and he hasn’t, yet.

That’s not a moment where you call out your teammates and say you need better teammates. That’s a moment where you take it on the chin, tell them you’ve got the next one and move on.

I’m not going to spell out what makes a “real” or effective leader. Different things work for different people. It’s not my place to say.

But what Irving has displayed over these last few weeks is the same type of behavior that soured his time in Boston. If he’s not careful, the same thing could end up happening here.

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