Kyrie Irving is one of the best point guards in the world today. There is no doubt that he is an amazing scorer who is an absolute wizard when it comes to his ballhandling. Nobody should be questioning how talented he is. However, despite his abilities when it comes to basketball, many have criticized him for his actions off the court.
For example, there have been times when Kyrie Irving has missed time for the Brooklyn Nets without being injured. While a lot of people have criticized him for it, he later revealed that he had “personal stuff” going on.
Whatever the reason for it, Kyrie Irving has developed a reputation as an unreliable player. Stephen A. Smith has even claimed that he would never offer the point guard a long-term contract, adding that Irving “cannot be trusted”.
“Kyrie Irving is box office, this brother deserves $50 million a year. I would never give him a long-term contract again. He cannot be trusted. You pay him one year at a time. I don’t care how much money he gets, you pay him on year at a time. You know why? Cuz you gotta make sure he shows up to work.
“This man has played in 11 seasons in this NBA. He has played over 60 games 4 times and there’s 82 games in the season. He is one of the absolute professionals at missing work. I’m not giving him a long-term deal, you got to be crazy.”
Recently, Stephen A. Smith has taken another jab at Kyrie Irving. He referenced the Russia-Ukraine conflict right now, claiming that when it started, he wasn’t sure if Kyrie Irving would show up to work.
"When Russia bombed Ukraine I thought Kyrie Irving wasn't going to show up for work"-Stephen A Smith pic.twitter.com/lnu4vf0H5o
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) April 25, 2022
When Russia bombed Ukraine, I thought Kyrie Irving wasn’t doing to show up to work.
It seems as though the implication here is that Kyrie Irving is viewed as someone who makes excuses, so it seems as though Stephen A. Smith’s thinking is that Kyrie Irving would use the conflict as an excuse to miss work.
It remains to be seen if Kyrie Irving responds to Stephen A. Smith’s attacks. Kyrie Irving has responded to media members about jabs taken at him in the past, so it wouldn’t be out of the question.
