Stephen A: I'm 'Not Hearing Good Things' About Kyrie Irving's Attitude with Nets
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said Thursday he's "not hearing good things" about Kyrie Irving since he left the Boston Celtics to sign with the Brooklyn Nets in free agency over the summer.
"If Kyrie's listening, I'm telling you there's stuff circulating out there about him from an attitude perspective," Smith said on First Take. "I don't think it's right, but it's [out there]."
In October, ESPN's Jackie MacMullan reported the point guard's "mood swings" had already become an "unspoken concern that makes Nets officials queasy."
"I look at Kyrie as somebody who is an artist," Nets teammate Kevin Durant told MacMullan. "You have to leave him alone. You know what he'll bring to the table every night because he cares so much about the game."
Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson referred to the report as "false" in October:
Irving will return to Boston to face the Celtics on Wednesday after becoming the face of last year's disappointing season. The C's entered the 2018-19 campaign with championship-level expectations but finished fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 49-33 record and got knocked out in the second round of the playoffs.
In turn, the fanbase was happy to see the Duke product, who arrived in Boston via a trade in 2017, not exercise his player option to stay. That allowed the front office to bring in Kemba Walker from the Charlotte Hornets to fill the void. The Celtics have responded with an 11-3 start to the 2019-20 campaign.
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Thursday on 98.5 The Sports Hub radio (h/t Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston) that fans shouldn't boo Irving in his return to TD Garden and he wouldn't be against the team showing a tribute video in his honor.
"He gets blamed for a lot of the sour of last year, and I just think it's much, much bigger than that. So, I don't have any grudges against Kyrie," Ainge said. "I'm grateful that he gave us a chance and it didn't work out. It wasn't his fault things didn't work out. It was a lot of people's fault, including my own."
The 6-8 Nets will visit Boston for a nationally televised game Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
