Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Nets trading Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks.
According to Shams Charania, the Brooklyn Nets are trading their star point guard Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick and multiple second-round picks.
NBA Twitter reacted to the trade bomb that created a dynamic duo in Dallas with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
It’s not time for Brooklyn to force their hand with a Kyrie trade just yet
Welcome to Layup Lines, our basketball newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon
Howdy, folks. Welcome back to Layup Lines. It’s Sykes, once again, here to usher you into the weekend. How about that Kyrie Irving news, huh?
The Brooklyn Nets are in a precarious situation. Their All-Star point guard has demanded a trade after contract negotiations fell through and, now, is forcing the Nets to make a choice: Either lose him for nothing this summer or make a trade. It’s the organization’s choice.
But, really, Brooklyn doesn’t have to do anything. Not just yet.
Yes, of course, the NBA’s trade deadline is on February 9. If the Nets want to get anything back in return for Irving right now, there’s only about a week left to do it. But Brooklyn doesn’t have to move Irving or sign him to an extension — not right now. That’s why we’re in this situation in the first place.
Irving wants to be paid his max salary. That’s why the two sides were in the midst of contract negotiations throughout the last week. Irving’s representation made it clear that he wanted to be there despite his trade request in the summer. The Nets, however, have been dragging their feet, per NBA Insider Marc Stein, because they believe there’s not a robust market for the guard and that he’ll need their help to leave for a desired destination via sign-and-trade in the summertime.
Irving is currently eligible for a 4-year, $198 million extension with the Nets and he could reasonably sign that sort o max deal in the offseason. But the only way he gets it is by either signing with Brooklyn outright or having them organize a sign-and-trade for his max salary. No other team can offer him as much as the Nets can, and it’s clear he wants to be paid his max.
He could just leave outright and decide to spurn them in the summer and that’s the risk Brooklyn would be taking on by doing nothing here. But what’s the harm in that? The market isn’t expected to be robust anyway, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Brooklyn could let him play out his deal, see where things end up and, if he leaves in the offseason, blow things up anyway. Trade Kevin Durant, see what’s out there for Ben Simmons and just move on from this Nets era. The Nets would have the pieces to move forward from that alone. Sure, they missed out on a return for Irving. But so what? It’d just be a sunk cost at that point. It probably wouldn’t speed up any rebuild in a tremendous fashion.
So, no. The Nets don’t have to do anything right now. The team does still have leverage and this isn’t a done deal.
We just have to wait and see how it plays out.
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
There were basketball things that happened in the NBA outside of the Kyrie news today.
Before this, Dillon Brooks vs. Donovan Mitchell was the subject of (not too much) debate around the league. Everyone thinks Brooks should be suspended for delivering a cheap shot to Mitchell, including my colleague Charles Curtis.
Here’s more:
“Normally, a cheap shot to the groin from another player might be a fineable offense if there’s no history from the offender.
But there’s history. This is Dillon Brooks — not known for his shot selection — whose dirty fowl on Gary Payton II in last season’s playoffs broke the then-Warriors’ guard’s elbow.
And when you hear from Mitchell there are other cases of Brooks being dirty that players around the league have noticed, it’s time for the NBA to take a stand and hand down a suspension that will draw the line at what Brooks can and can’t do.”
Dillon Brooks’ history here is exactly why the NBA needs to do something here. He, quite literally, cannot keep getting away with this.
(All odds via Tipico.)
Wizards (-3.5, -150) vs. Trail Blazers (+140), O/U 236.5, 7 PM ET
This is going to be a pretty good game. Don’t look now, but the Wizards have the longest winning streak (6 games) in the NBA. But they’ll absolutely have their hands full covering Damian Lillard, who is averaging 39.1 points on 53% shooting from the field. The dude is on fire.
I’d take the Blazers here +3.5. Nobody seems to have answers for Lillard and the Wizards love to play a close game.
— Tyrese Haliburton perfectly trolled Wally Sczerbiak after making his first All-Star game.
—Here’s every potential Kyrie Irving trade destination so far, ranked.
— Speaking of Kyrie, his trade request is perfect for Cavs bettors.
— Unfortunately for Nets fans, your favorite team’s title odds are already tanking.
That’s all, folks! Enjoy the weekend.
Kyrie Irving has a market, folks
Welp. That didn’t take long. With the NBA’s trade deadline just a few days away, it looks like there’s already a legitimate market out there for Kyrie Irving’s services.
Considering his history in the NBA and how — uh, let’s call it unpredictable — Irving can be, there was a question floating around about how many teams would potentially want to add the Nets’ All-Star to their roster.
It turns out there are already quite a few. According to multiple reports in the situation, there are already at least five potentially vying for Irving’s services.
Here, we have them all ranked from best to worst, starting with:
The Nets are back at square 1 again.
Kyrie Irving is back on the trade market, once again. It’s just that this time, instead of the Nets having months to figure out what to do, they’ve only got a few days.
The NBA’s trade deadline is coming up on February 9, which is less than one week away. Within that timeframe, the Nets have to gauge the market for their All-Star point guard, figure out their asking price and see what teams will be able to reach it. That’s a lot of work to do in just one week.
That’s exactly why only one team, at this point, makes the most sense. And that team is — you guessed it — the Los Angeles Lakers.
Yes, yes, I know. You’re tired of the Lakers being in every single trade rumor about every single player — star or otherwise — in the NBA. To be completely honest and transparent here, I am, too.
But there’s at least a baseline reasoning here for this one to make a little more sense. Let’s go over it.
Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to Kyrie Irving requesting a trade out of Brooklyn.
According to Shams Charania, Kyrie Irving has requested a trade out of Brooklyn and wants to be moved prior to Thursday’s deadline.
Per Chris Haynes, this comes in aftermath of sides being unable to get an extension done.
Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the reports of Kyrie wanting out of Brooklyn… yet again.
“He shut me up, for sure.”
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant wasn’t too busy this month to take in some of the NFL Playoffs action. And there’s one team the 12-time NBA All-Star came away impressed with: the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In an interview with Boardroom, Durant had plenty of good things to say about the Jaguars and wide receiver Christian Kirk.
.@KDTrey5 on who will make the Super Bowl:
"I got Joe Burrow. Best quarterback in the league. I'm going Burrow and Purdy."
New episode of The ETCs drops Monday. 👀 pic.twitter.com/pleQN6YR1M
— Boardroom (@boardroom) January 27, 2023
“Jaguars came with it,” Durant said. “They played well, they just never been there before. … Love Trevor Lawrence. Love [Travis] Etienne. Love Christian Kirk.
“I thought, sorry, I thought [Kirk] was a little overpaid when he first got his money, and then I was like, nah. He was ballin’ in Arizona, but he got paid like he was one of the best in the league, but he showed up this year, though. He shut me up, for sure.”
The Jaguars raised eyebrows when they dished out a four-year, $72 million deal to Kirk last year, despite the receiver never topping 1,000 receiving yards in any of his four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.
That changed in Jacksonville where Kirk finished the 2022 regular season with 84 receptions, 1,108 yards, and eight touchdowns, all career best marks. He added another 15 receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the Jaguars’ two postseason games.
The Jaguars have long been the punchline of jokes in sports circles and those same groups had a field day when the team paid big money to acquire Kirk last year. The team’s wild ride to the Divisional Round and Kirk’s big year seem to have gone a long way toward changing that narrative.
Stop expecting Ben Simmons to be something he isn’t
Welcome to Layup Lines, our basketball newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon
Howdy, folks. Welcome back to Layup Lines. It’s Sykes, once again, here to usher you into the weekend. Let’s talk about Ben Simmons.
The Nets’ forward is in headlines and tweets again for not scoring a single point in the Nets’ primetime TNT showcase against the Celtics. It’s “Ben Simmons is scared to shoot” this and “he won’t even look at the basket,” that.
It’s not like the critiques are invalid. Ben Simmons won’t shoot. He’s arguably the Nets’ third best player and there are times when he just won’t look at the basket. That can lead to overpassing and turnovers, just like it did here.
But zoom out for a second. Disregard those isolated moments and just look at the big picture of Thursday night’s game. Simmons dished off 13 assists, grabbed 9 rebounds, had two steals and one block
My colleague, Bryan Kalbrosky, pointed out to me that Simmons is the only player in the NBA this season to have at least 13 assists, 9 rebounds, two steals and a block.
Let’s shrink it back down and take those figures out for a second. Let’s just talk about the game itself. Simmons was the only Nets player who registered a positive plus-minus in the box score at +10 in 26 minutes. The Nets lost by 11.
Single-game plus-minus isn’t something to necessarily hang one’s hat on. But in the case of Thursday night’s Celtics-Nets matchup, its showing us that Ben Simmons wasn’t the actual problem. Ultimately, it was their lack of size all-around that got them beat. The Celtics managed to grab 12 offensive rebounds and absolutely clobbered Brooklyn on the glass.
I say all this to say that, no. The Nets not being able to survive without Kevin Durant for one game was not because Ben Simmons couldn’t come up with an extra 11 points. Would it have helped? Maybe so. But that’s not why the Nets lost. And the difference it would’ve made is minuscule.
So, please, let’s all just act accordingly.
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.\
Luka Doncic being shocked that the Lakers didn’t double-team him on his game-tying shot against them to force overtime is both hilarious and, honestly, perplexing.
I mean, yes. Seriously. Why didn’t they double Luka? Kalbrosky has more on it here.
“It was a surprising defensive decision from the Lakers, who had trapped him in the pick-and-roll and sent double coverage on Doncic several possessions earlier in the game.
After the game, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said he was “kicking himself in the butt” for not blitzing Doncic before the final shot in regulation.”
Guess they’ll know better for next time.
(All odds via Tipico.)
Spurs (+290) vs. Warriors (-8.5, -350), O/U 243.5, 7:30 PM ET
Look. There’s not a doubt in my mind that the Warriors will win this game. It’s Steph Curry’s second game back from injury and they’ve lost three straight. But -8.5? That’s too steep. The Spurs are bad, yes. But they’re playing in the Alamodome and are reportedly set to break the NBA’s single-game attendance record. They’ve got a lot to play for here. It’s risky, but give me the Spurs +8.5.
—The Hawks are dysfunctional and it might be because of the owner’s son. Yes. Seriously.
— Jayson Tatum is going to wear his signature shoe soon. Hopefully, it’s not still ugly.
— Here’s a betting trend that you should be paying attention to for road teams in the NBA.
— Ja Morant keeps dunking on Jakob Poeltl and I just want to know why.
Enjoy the weekend, folks!
Kyrie Irving is already looking for his next move
Kyrie Irving had been a fixture at Nike for years since getting his first signature shoe in 2014. He’s consistently been one of the brand’s top sellers.
And then the company chose to suspend his line.
Irving had his contract suspended by Nike last month after he retweeted the link to a video peddling antisemitic content and refused to apologize for it. Fast forward to today, his deal with the company is completely clipped. Not only is he not a signature athlete with Nike anymore, but he’s not a Nike athlete at all.
The brand officially terminated its deal with Irving on Monday. This is something that has rarely been seen in the sneaker world — there are only a few cases of brands cutting high-profile athletes. But it’s hardly unexpected.
Nike co-founder and chairman emeritus Phil Knight said the brand probably wouldn’t work with Irving ever again. He doesn’t necessarily make decisions for the company anymore, but he certainly has a ton of sway. So it makes plenty of sense that things have gone this far.
Now, we’ve also got Irving’s first public reaction to the news and it comes in the form of his old signature sneakers.
Irving completely taped over the Nike logo on his Kyrie 3 signature sneakers and wrote “I am free. Thank you God. I am free,” on one sneaker and wrote “Logo here” on the other.
It was certainly an odd look.
Kyrie’s shoes tonight. 👀
(via @NickDePaula) pic.twitter.com/xz9J4tDvmm
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 8, 2022
Looks like Irving is officially done with Nike. Nike is done with him, too.
They’ve already identified Ja Morant as the next athlete in line for a signature model, effectively having him take Irving’s slot on Nike’s very small roster.
For Irving’s end of things, he’s officially a sneaker free agent. It’s just like the NBA — he’s available on the open market to sign with whatever brand he wants. The question is which brands would want to touch him right now and, honestly, the answer to that might be few and far between.
We’ll see as time goes by. Regardless, though, it’s a shame to see such an impactful signature sneaker line fall apart in such a tumultuous way.
Watch our sneaker unboxing series, Special Delivery
The Nets are hopeful that two key role players will return this week.
Before the Brooklyn Nets’ win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, coach Jacque Vaughn gave promising updates on sharpshooting big Yuta Watanabe and T.J. Warren. Vaughn said both players are “trending toward” being available in the coming week.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the Nets are targeting a December 2nd return for Warren against the Toronto Raptors.
Watanabe is putting up eight points per game while shooting a league-best 57 percent from behind the arc, and teammate Kyrie Irving feels that Watanabe is the best shooter in the league.
Warren was picked up this offseason and needed time to recover from a foot injury, and has only played four games in the last two seasons. As an efficient shooter from the bench, the Nets have been awaiting his return.
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Seth Curry had a huge game off the bench and the Nets beat the Trail Blazers at home on Sunday.
The Brooklyn Nets earned a win on Sunday evening at home against the Portland Trail Blazers, 111-97, thanks to Seth Curry lighting up the scoreboard. Curry drained seven 3-pointers and scored 29 points off the bench, helping the Nets pull away in the fourth quarter.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving combined for 48, with Nic Claxton contributing a solid 11 points. The win improved the Nets’ record to 5-4 at the Barclays Center, and was the first in a seven-game homestand for Brooklyn.
Here’s what NBA Twitter had to say about the Nets’ home victory:
