With Kevin Durant sidelined due to an injury, the Brooklyn Nets are in trouble. James Harden will carry the load now, helped by Patty Mills, LaMarcus Aldridge and co. They are still good players for the Nets, but having a part-time superstar in Kyrie Irving doesn’t feel quite right for the team.
Now that KD is out for several weeks, everybody wants to see Kyrie play at home, too. He’s currently taking part in road games, but that’s not enough if the Nets want to finish atop the Eastern Conference standings. Many people have urged the organization to make Kyrie a full-time player in any way.
After Kendrick Perkins called Kevin Durant and James Harden ‘soft’ for not calling out Irving for not getting the covid-19 vaccine, Shaquille O’Neal offered another solution to this issue, detailing what he would do if Kyrie was his teammate.
Talking on the latest episode of his “Big Podcast,” O’Neal explained he would get physical with Kyrie if they were on the same team.
Via Yahoo Sports:
“I don’t see how the team could put up with that, I’m just saying. If he was on my team I’d have to put hands on him.”
“I know for a fact that these windows of winning championships, you don’t have them a lot,” he continued. “All that stuff just playing on the road, you can’t get in no rhythm like that.”
Moreover, Shaq claimed that Kyrie’s status as a part-time player could create some issues with his teammates, something that would damage the Nets’ chances to win the NBA championship.
“When I won my floor, we was close,” he said. “We was tight, we fought, we argued, we went to each others kids birthday parties, we went to parties on the road, we held secrets, we did a lot of things, we stuck up for each other, we trusted each other, you can’t do that with people coming in and out.”
“His stand is his stand, I’m not going to get into the argument of what he should or shouldn’t do,” he added. “But I’m just saying from experience … if you want to win, you have to sacrifice.”
Kyrie has made it clear he won’t change his stance on this situation. Some rumors say he’s waiting to get a plant-based vaccine, but that’s not near completion right now. Meanwhile, he’s a part-time player that watches home games at home, sometimes by himself, sometimes with his family.
Irving already made his decision and it seems like nothing will change that. Perhaps the Nets can give Shaq a 10-day contract to see if he can offer Kyrie a different perspective. Meanwhile, Brooklyn ranks 1st in the East after beating the San Antonio Spurs on Friday and the Bucks beat the Bulls. Kyrie finished the game with 24 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists.
