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.
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.
“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
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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.
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
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.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.\
(Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
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.
“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.”
Spurs (+290) vs. Warriors (-8.5, -350), O/U 243.5, 7:30 PM ET
(AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
Here’s all you need to know ahead of Friday’s Nets vs. Pacers game.
The Brooklyn Nets look to play the Indiana Pacers on Friday, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.
Playmaking forward Ben Simmons has been playing with a lot more confidence and has really seen improvements in his game. Superstar Kevin Durant is still lighting it up from the hardwood, averaging 28.8 points per game.
Our prediction and best bet for Wednesday’s Nets vs. Raptors game.
The Brooklyn Nets play the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, and if you’re looking to do some last-minute betting research, you’re in luck!
We’ll give you the latest point spread, money line odds and over/under number, as well as the information you’ll need to make the smartest bet at BetMGM.
The Nets suffered a tough loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night, where the team was just outworked all night. The Raptors have won two of their last three, and are coming off a two-point loss on the road in Atlanta.
Here’s all you need to know ahead of Wednesday’s Nets vs. Raptors game.
The Brooklyn Nets play the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.
The Nets suffered a tough loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night, falling to a depleted Sixers squad missing three star players.
These two teams met in the Nets’ second game of the season, and Brooklyn pulled out a 109-105 win. Kyrie Irving scored 30 points that night, but both Irving and Durant were held to a relatively quiet 43 points against Philadelphia.
The Raptors have been dealing with the absence of Pascal Siakam, who had been putting up incredible numbers, but are 2-1 in their last three games with wins over the Pistons and Heat.
