Following the Nets‘ second loss in two nights on Wednesday, Kyrie Irving told reporters, including ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, that the team needs to do more work on its roster to become a championship contender.
“I mean, it’s transparent. It’s out there. It’s glaring, in terms of the pieces that we need in order to be at that next level,” Irving said. “I’m going to continue to reiterate it. We’re going to do the best with the guys that we have in our locker room now, and we’ll worry about all the other stuff, in terms of moving pieces and everything else, as an organization down the line in the summer.”
Of course, the Nets are currently missing their most talented player, as Kevin Durant will spend the entire 2019/20 season recovering from a torn Achilles. However, it didn’t sound as if Irving’s comments applied specifically to this season. The star point guard implied that Brooklyn would need more help even after Durant returns.
“Collectively, I feel like we have great pieces,” Irving said. “But it’s pretty glaring we need one more piece or two more pieces that will complement myself, K.D. (Kevin Durant), D.J. (DeAndre Jordan), G.T. (Garrett Temple), Spence (Spencer Dinwiddie), Caris (LeVert), and we’ll see how that evolves.”
Irving’s comments are interesting for a few reasons. For one, his list of core players who need to be complemented didn’t include guys like Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, and Joe Harris. Allen is viewed as a young building block for the franchise, Prince signed a contract extension in the fall, and the Nets are expected to try to re-sign Harris later this year. It’s possible that Irving not mentioning any of those players was just an oversight, but it’s still worth noting which names he listed and which he didn’t.
Additionally, the Nets’ flexibility to make roster upgrades going forward will be limited, based on the commitments they made this past offseason to players like Durant, Jordan, and Irving himself. Brooklyn projects to be well over the cap and perhaps over the tax threshold in 2020/21, and general manager Sean Marks and team owner Joseph Tsai have both recently said that the team is prepared to go into the tax in order to build a roster capable of contending for a championship.
Still, spending at that level means the Nets would only have the taxpayer mid-level exception available to make a meaningful addition in free agency. Trading rotation players may be the club’s only other avenue to an upgrade.
With Durant out for the season, the Nets are unlikely to make major changes to their roster at this season’s deadline in an effort to push for a title immediately. But it will be interesting to see how the front office responds in the summer to Irving’s assessment of the roster.
Way to lead Kaylie. Welcome back.
I truly believe kyrie might possibly be a complete idiot, that long message on Instagram a few weeks back crying about people being mean to him, and now just like throwing teammates under the bus, go play and carry your team to wins, I’m the biggest lebron hater on earth but kyrie is quickly passing him up as the whiniest little boy in the league
What a class act. Never been a better leader in the NBA. Glad he doesn’t feel any responsibility towards making the Nets competitive, just hurry and get him some help. At least he knows he can’t carry a team. Bet the locker room loves him.
The Nets need a new point guard.
Dinwiddies fine at point
Grabbing some popcorn. This is more entertaining than Bulls dysfunction.
It’s also interesting because he didn’t shoot particularly well.
This entire story is what’s wrong with the NBA
No other sport would comments like this be made, hockey? Nope. NFL, no way. MLB. Never
The NBA is literally the players saying and doing anything they desire and as long as they are viewed as “all star” players, its condoned
It’s gotten to the point that theres no need for GMs on most teams, as certain players also function as the GM in public (see lebron) . Next itll be coaches that are ousted.
And the money these guys are paid, some will soon be owners, Kawahi already tried to get ownership stake in the Raptors during his FA run
But ESPN (especially the people on The Jump) tell us the player empowerment era is the best thing ever! How dare you shame players into behaving like all the other athletes in sports!
For the life of me I can’t understand what went wrong with the Celtics last year.
Man, Kyrie just loves throwing his teammates under the bus. True leadership being shown there. Let’s not speak of the fact that he’s making these statements on a night when he shot 6-21 from the field. He has and always will be known as a crybaby, and no amount of winning will ever change that. KD will be greatly disappointed next year when he gets thrown under the bus too at some point, which is inevitable. It happened with Kyrie and LeBron so what’s to say that it will be any different in the future? I wish the Nets all the best, but I also wish Kyrie nothing but the worst, on the court.
A true leader and good friend! The guy barely plays and is critical of all other teammates. Maybe Lebron was right? What a jerk
Amazing those guys play well when Kyrie isn’t there then when he comes back they play average. Kyrie can get his numbers all he wants but every time he has been a #1 the team has underachieved.
I read an article that said Kyrie is this generations version of Marbury and couldn’t have agreed more. Drama queen that puts up great numbers that don’t translate to wins
Who are Kyrie’s fans? I have never seen a positive post about him, but he is popular and gets a ton of All Star votes. It’s baffling.
I’m not a fan of his either but it’s hard to argue against his talent his handle is just unreal. He is a top 10 player in the league. But very unlikeable
He is a top individual talent–misses too many games, is not a leader and as stated above, when he is ‘the guy’ his team suffers.
He is in all star games because he is a great individual talent. He is just counter productive when it comes to winning. Legendary coach Herb Brooks when recruiting would prioritize those who could be coached, embrace change, and have good values. He thought values trump everything and that hard work beat good talent. Herb Brooks won a lot. Kyrie is not a player he would want.
Great comment! It’s so spot on. If I was drafting an all-star squad, for one exhibition game, I’d want Kyrie. If I was an NBA GM, trying to win a title, it’d be a hard pass. He’s the type of guy who’ll just wreck your team chemistry, and he doesn’t make anyone around him better.
Way to throw your teammates under the bus, again. This is why Kyrie and Durant will not win anything in Brooklyn.
Why anyone wants this clown on their team is beyond me. Let Lavert and Durant have it next season and move on
I never understood why Kyrie was so coveted in free agency, or why so many people praised the Nets for signing him.
As a Cavs fan, the warning signs have been there ever since the end of his tenure in Cleveland — then he didn’t do himself any favors in Boston. He’s a second option with the ego of a superstar.
Kyrie is right…and Kyrie is a very talented player. But why the need to publicly throw his teammates under the bus? I mean, he named Durant, Jordan, Lavert, Temple and Dinwiddie as guys who were “good” then doesn’t mention guys like Allen, Prince and Harris?
The guy just needs to shut up and play.
Mr. Flat Earth is totally unaware or oblivious. He knows what his media rep is and he keeps feeding the fire. The hubris is off the charts.
KI wants to do the GM role too? Maybe he should start by playing…every night. He is a s**t disturber….great talent….terrible teammate
And so it begins. Enjoy
As a Celtics fan I could not be happier. He had 1 game and won a title. LBJ was on that team. A leader lifts up people it never tears down people.
Here’s a good question: what (NOT WHO) are the Nets missing? If not for making salaries match, we’d trade for Marcus Morris of the knix.
Why not acquire his brother from Detroit?
Man I was a huge Kyrie fan but his comments were just stupid. Why do you need to list who the main players are ..
He could’ve stopped at we need a couple more pieces,
He could’ve stopped at the accompaniment me and KD but no …..
Anyways if this does start something or is a sign of maybe these players don’t have big futures here
What about some trade ideas.
Jarrett Allen for Kyle Kuzma.
Lakers don’t seem high on Kuzma and AD and Allen could be good to watch. As for the Nets, KD and Kuzma would be good to watch, I think Kuzma would fit that locker room well and on court DJ makes up for his lack of rebounding.
You’d have a 3 guard rotation of Irving LeVert and Dinwiddie, a 3 forward rotation of KD Kuzma and Prince and at centre you have Jordan.
Outside of these main players maybe resign Joe Harris and keep Claxton and Temple and bring in a back up PF/C like Kennith Faried
Did I dream the part where the nets were better before Kylie rejoined the team?
Poor Why Me Kyrie…..seems like everyone including Cleveland is better without Kyrie. He has turned into a real life grumpy uncle Drew
Well at least he’s honest the nets are not gonna compete for the playoffs with this old broken roster
No recognition for defensive top aces Allen, Claxton or Nwaba. Telling.
It is hard to complete a list off the top of your head but I’m not sure that was the case. Maybe he meant it. “Had to be there”