This one will come as a surprise to, well, nobody.
For as talented as he is, Kyrie Irving has developed the very-much-deserved reputation of being difficult to be with sometimes. His mood swings can make him unpredictable, and that marred his runs with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.
And it appears that behavior has stuck with him on his new team.
In a story published by ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, it appears Irving’s mood swings already are worrying some Nets brass.
“Yet Irving’s infamous mood swings, confirmed by his ex-teammates, which followed him from Cleveland to Boston to Brooklyn, are the unspoken concern that makes Nets officials queasy,” wrote MacMullan. “When Irving lapses into these funks, he often shuts down, unwilling to communicate with the coaching staff, front office and sometimes, even his teammates. Nets team sources say one such episode occurred during Brooklyn’s trip to China, leaving everyone scratching their heads as to what precipitated it. There’s hope that (Kevin) Durant will be able to coax his friend into a better frame of mind. But when presented with that scenario, KD says he will be hands off.”
This really shouldn’t be surprising to the Nets, and if this at all caught them off guard then it shows egregious flaws in their vetting process with free agents. And to be fair to Durant, it shouldn’t be his job to babysit Irving when he’s sour, and for the organization to hope Durant will “coax” Irving to a better mindset is, in a word, silly.
There’s no questioning the talent on the Nets, but if egos take away from their success, that wouldn’t be the most shocking thing in the world.
