The league-wide perception about Kyrie Irving can be generalized as problematic as it seems.
As revealed by ESPN’s Zach Lowe on his the Lowe Post podcast on Wednesday, Irving has been viewed around the league as “radioactive” and having an inflated trade value.
“I talked to a lot of people around the league over the weekend, and the sense I get right now is he’s radioactive. Even if you drop the price to nothing, the baggage is just too much. And you want to talk about how the Lakers are the most desperate team in the league. All right, the Lakers also play in a gigantic cosmopolitan city. All of the residents are following this story. I just don’t know what else they’re supposed to do except try to salvage and you’re telling me it’s unsalvageable.”
This general notion comes in with no surprise. Irving only played 111 games in his four regular seasons with the Nets, as this depicts how unreliable he is in terms of availability. Not to mention, he is a magnet of controversy late in his career due to the conspiracies he spewed that was highlighted by the controversial reluctance he gave on COVID vaccine jab last season.
His recent fiasco about antisemitism only adds fuel to the fire that surrounds him. It took days and public outrage for him to finally acknowledge his wrongdoings of promoting the 2018 film “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” in his Twitter account.
The Lakers might be on the cusp of desperation now given their slow start, but it is still too early for them this season to pull the trigger and demand for the dysfunctional star next year.
