Report: Nets officials concerned about Kyrie Irving's 'mood swings'

https://sports.yahoo.com/report-nets-officials-concerned-about-kyrie-irvings-mood-swings-145753427.html?.tsrc=fauxdal




Report: Nets officials concerned about Kyrie Irving's 'mood swings'



Liz Roscher, Yahoo Sports

•Oct 29, 2019, 7:57 AM




Kyrie Irving is a complex player. On the court he’s a singular talent, but off the court he’s known to go through bouts of moodiness and isolation. According to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, that moodiness has become a concern for the Brooklyn Nets.

Yet Irving's infamous mood swings, confirmed by his ex-teammates, which followed him from Cleveland to Boston to Brooklyn, are the unspoken concern that makes Nets officials queasy. When Irving lapses into these funks, he often shuts down, unwilling to communicate with the coaching staff, front office and sometimes, even his teammates. Nets team sources say one such episode occurred during Brooklyn's trip to China, leaving everyone scratching their heads as to what precipitated it.

As MacMullan pointed out, Irving’s personality quirks are nothing new. They’ve been well-publicized wherever he’s gone. MacMullan published an article in May 2019 titled “Kyrie Irving and the Celtics’ state of dismay” that discussed how Irving’s mood impacted his Boston Celtics teammates. It did impact them, to the point that the head coach and the president of basketball operations had to talk to him about being more positive.

Celtics players concede that earlier in the season Irving's mood swings often left them treading lightly in the locker room. Coach Brad Stevens and [Danny] Ainge addressed it with their best player, and he promised to be more aware.

Celtics players told MacMullan that after Stevens and Ainge spoke to Irving, things did change for the better. The Nets are reportedly hoping that the presence of Kevin Durant will prevent things from getting to that point with Irving, and that Durant will be able help Irving get into a consistently positive (or at least neutral) frame of mind. But Durant doesn’t want to interfere with Irving’s preparation. Via ESPN:

There's hope that Durant will be able to coax his friend into a better frame of mind. But when presented with that scenario, KD says he will be hands off.

"I look at Kyrie as somebody who is an artist," Durant says. "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.

"Now, it might not be how other people want him to care about it. He has his way of doing things. I respect who he is and what he does. He has all the intangibles you want in a teammate and a great player. So, how he gets to the point to be ready for 7:30 every night, I'm supporting him 100 percent."


Kyrie Irving's well-documented "mood swings" are reportedly causing the Nets to feel "queasy." (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)


Despite the reported “episode” when the Nets visited China in early October, MacMullan reported that many of Irving’s teammates have benefited from his presence and his leadership.

But Brooklyn's players speak glowingly of Irving's leadership and temperament. [Spencer] Dinwiddie spent a week with him and his family in Hawaii in July. [Caris] LeVert says Irving drops a little basketball gem in his lap nearly every day, whether it's how to cross over to shake off defenders, or the concentration and repetition required to finish in traffic.

Irving told MacMullan that he’s looking at this move to Brooklyn as the start of a new chapter. He’s already off to an exceptional start, averaging 37.7 points, 6.3 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. With just three games down in a long season (and a long four-year contract with Irving), there will be plenty of time for the Nets and Irving to figure out their relationship — and there will undoubtedly be a lot of figuring out to do.



bob
MY NOTE:  HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!  If KD is "hands off" then the Nets can look forward to 4 years of this because this is who this spoiled little prima donna is.  I believe the technical term for the emotion I'm feeling right now is "Schadenfreude", right Berlin?

Kyrie is the perfect example of the difference between fantasy league basketball and real world basketball.  He's a perfect fantasy league teammate and a horrible real world one.


.

BKN's already opened up the Christmas present...can't jam it back in the box and ship it off quite yet.  They knew what they were getting.  Slow day at the news desk IMHBAO?  

db

When he was here, especially after Christmas, when all the issues really started to come out, I said that this guy had a bipolar personality. One day up, ten days down. As the playoffs came, and that debacle in Milwaukee happened, I was convinced he WANTED to lose that series. He did not want to go any further. Anyone who watched those games had to see the same thing I did.

I have said many times, Brooklyn is not the last team this guy will play for. He is going to be one of those talented players who keeps searching for the pot of gold without working for it.
He acts like a petulant child at times. We are so lucky he is gone.

As talented as he is, I will never regret his leaving. I said in the beginning of the season, "I want my superstar to bleed green, just like I do, I was told by some here that not all players play with their hearts on their sleeve.

Kyrie gave us some exciting basketball games, but, I will never regret his leaving. He will never be happy

RosalieTCeltics wrote:When he was here, especially after Christmas, when all the issues really started to come out, I said that this guy had a bipolar personality. One day up, ten days down.  As the playoffs came, and that debacle in Milwaukee happened, I was convinced he WANTED to lose that series. He did not want to go any further. Anyone who watched those games had to see the same thing I did.

I have said many times, Brooklyn is not the last team this guy will play for. He is going to be one of those talented players who keeps searching for the pot of gold without working for it.
He acts like a petulant child at times.  We are so lucky he is gone.

As talented as he is, I will never regret his leaving. I said in the beginning of the season, "I want my superstar to bleed green, just like I do,  I was told by some here that not all players play with their hearts on their sleeve.

Kyrie gave us some exciting basketball games, but, I will never regret his leaving. He will never be happy

Rosalie,

Very well said. +1.

By extension, what does it say about Jaylen Brown taking that rookie extension contract when, with the extension of Siakem in Toronto, he would have been one of the most sought after free agents this summer? It says he loves the Boston Celtics, he enjoys Boston and feels good living there and he loves us. He Bleeds Green. From a pure talent point of view Kyrie is the better player, by far, but this is a team, not singles tennis. Jaylen's value to the team is, in my opinion, FAR greater than Kyrie's was and FAR, FAR, FAR greater than it would be this year if he stayed.


bob



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bobheckler wrote:https://sports.yahoo.com/report-nets-officials-concerned-about-kyrie-irvings-mood-swings-145753427.html?.tsrc=fauxdal




Report: Nets officials concerned about Kyrie Irving's 'mood swings'



Liz Roscher, Yahoo Sports

•Oct 29, 2019, 7:57 AM




Kyrie Irving is a complex player. On the court he’s a singular talent, but off the court he’s known to go through bouts of moodiness and isolation. According to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, that moodiness has become a concern for the Brooklyn Nets.

Yet Irving's infamous mood swings, confirmed by his ex-teammates, which followed him from Cleveland to Boston to Brooklyn, are the unspoken concern that makes Nets officials queasy. When Irving lapses into these funks, he often shuts down, unwilling to communicate with the coaching staff, front office and sometimes, even his teammates. Nets team sources say one such episode occurred during Brooklyn's trip to China, leaving everyone scratching their heads as to what precipitated it.

As MacMullan pointed out, Irving’s personality quirks are nothing new. They’ve been well-publicized wherever he’s gone. MacMullan published an article in May 2019 titled “Kyrie Irving and the Celtics’ state of dismay” that discussed how Irving’s mood impacted his Boston Celtics teammates. It did impact them, to the point that the head coach and the president of basketball operations had to talk to him about being more positive.

Celtics players concede that earlier in the season Irving's mood swings often left them treading lightly in the locker room. Coach Brad Stevens and [Danny] Ainge addressed it with their best player, and he promised to be more aware.

Celtics players told MacMullan that after Stevens and Ainge spoke to Irving, things did change for the better. The Nets are reportedly hoping that the presence of Kevin Durant will prevent things from getting to that point with Irving, and that Durant will be able help Irving get into a consistently positive (or at least neutral) frame of mind. But Durant doesn’t want to interfere with Irving’s preparation. Via ESPN:

There's hope that Durant will be able to coax his friend into a better frame of mind. But when presented with that scenario, KD says he will be hands off.

"I look at Kyrie as somebody who is an artist," Durant says. "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.

"Now, it might not be how other people want him to care about it. He has his way of doing things. I respect who he is and what he does. He has all the intangibles you want in a teammate and a great player. So, how he gets to the point to be ready for 7:30 every night, I'm supporting him 100 percent."


Kyrie Irving's well-documented "mood swings" are reportedly causing the Nets to feel "queasy." (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)


Despite the reported “episode” when the Nets visited China in early October, MacMullan reported that many of Irving’s teammates have benefited from his presence and his leadership.

But Brooklyn's players speak glowingly of Irving's leadership and temperament. [Spencer] Dinwiddie spent a week with him and his family in Hawaii in July. [Caris] LeVert says Irving drops a little basketball gem in his lap nearly every day, whether it's how to cross over to shake off defenders, or the concentration and repetition required to finish in traffic.

Irving told MacMullan that he’s looking at this move to Brooklyn as the start of a new chapter. He’s already off to an exceptional start, averaging 37.7 points, 6.3 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. With just three games down in a long season (and a long four-year contract with Irving), there will be plenty of time for the Nets and Irving to figure out their relationship — and there will undoubtedly be a lot of figuring out to do.



bob
MY NOTE:  HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!  If KD is "hands off" then the Nets can look forward to 4 years of this because this is who this spoiled little prima donna is.  I believe the technical term for the emotion I'm feeling right now is "Schadenfreude", right Berlin?

Kyrie is the perfect example of the difference between fantasy league basketball and real world basketball.  He's a perfect fantasy league teammate and a horrible real world one.


.

Jawohl, mein Freund!

Berlin-T

However, I must add that now that he no longer plays for us I almost feel sorry for him. I hated him when he was in Boston but it seems to me that Rosalie is right. The man is psychologically sick. I'm glad he is no longer our problem.

So the Nets are looking to KD to keep Irving on an even keel, because as we all know Durant has been Mr. Rock Solid Personality. So passive aggressive will comfort and nurture bipolar? As another "eccentric diva" all star once said "get your popcorn ready"!

Too bad the Ainge did not trade him to the Nets last winter when he could have rid the Cs of a big cancer as well as gotten something back in return.

That didn't take long.

willjr wrote:So the Nets are looking to KD to keep Irving on an even keel, because as we all know Durant has been Mr. Rock Solid Personality. So passive aggressive will comfort and nurture bipolar? As another "eccentric diva" all star once said "get your popcorn ready"!

Could not have said it any better than willjr.

its a fun read as a Celtic fan, after Irving quit and then left here.

but I would take this with a grain of salt right now, as it comes from Jackie MacMullan. While she is typically a solid reporter, she is also a Celtic's homer.

she may be seeing more than is really there.

anyhow, not OUR PROBLEM anymore.

if true, I hope Irving does get some help for whatever his mental health issue is though.

This guy has serious mental disorders....wouldn’t even say hi to Mike Gorman...??? Kyrie you don’t have to take him out to dinner, just say flip* hi back if someone says hi.

kdp59 wrote: .....
but I would take this with a grain of salt right now, as it comes from  Jackie MacMullan. While she is typically a solid reporter, she is also a Celtic's homer.

she may be seeing more than is really there.

...

kdp59,
I've been following Jackie MacMullen for many years and I don't recall any cases where she skewed facts due to her being a Celtics fan. So, don't start smear unless you have some proof. Please.

AK

sinus007 wrote:

kdp59 wrote: .....
but I would take this with a grain of salt right now, as it comes from  Jackie MacMullan. While she is typically a solid reporter, she is also a Celtic's homer.

she may be seeing more than is really there.

...

kdp59,
I've been following Jackie MacMullen for many years and I don't recall any cases where she skewed facts due to her being a Celtics fan. So, don't start smear unless you have some proof. Please.

AK

not trying to smear anyone..just sayin' as a long time Celtic fan, she may be reading more into it all than is there.

anyhow.like I said not our problem either way!

Let's face it. He was and is a marvelously talented basketball player. If he does have something wrong with him, there are prescription drugs he can take to deal with those assuming the league allows those. And given the NBA's recent push regarding mental illness, they almost have to allow them.

But for whatever reason(s), he just didn't mesh. Maybe it was with the players, the coach, management, the Boston aura. Whatever. He's clearly a Top 10 (maybe right at #10 but a Top #10 player in the league). But he's not the Boston MO.

Kemba is fantastic. But I wouldn't put him in the Top 10. Top 20? Yeah. But Boston puts emphasis on the intangibles more than the rest of the league goes with the need for flash.

We have no real superstars on this team, nor does Danny feel the need to get one or more. But watch where THIS team goes. Starting with tonight. This is a classic Boston-style championship team.

db

That garbage about Jackie Mac came from the biggest Celtic hater on NBC/TV, Felger. I heard it last night. And then Michael Holley took him on and told him he had no idea what he was talking about, that she would not lie to make the Celetics look good. He is such an ass.

If you remember, when The Cav's and Warriors were going at it in the finals Irvings last year, the rumors going around were that Irving sat alone on the bench, away from his teammates, not talking to them at all. The writing was on the wall, we just did not want to read it. The excitement of having a player of his quality. It made it easier to accept the IT trade.
Now we see that this is part of his personality.

Can't go back, we can only go forward. This is a new year, he is gone, let the Nets deal with his issues but I will say one thing positive, he put on one hell of a show at times. But now and then does not win championships.

LET'S GO CELTS, THE YEAR AND FUN HAVE JUST BEGUN.

The Celtics play B2B home and away games against the Nets on November 27th and the 29th.

They play two more games against the Nets later in the season.

The only thing that is important to me is how we play against them.  Kyrie being on the team will add more significance because Celtics fans will make it more significant.  And the media will feed into these games because that is what they do.  They are always looking for an angle.

Jackie MacMullan is an outstanding sports reporter but I am sure she can find something else to write about other than Kyrie's mood swings.  

When the hell will Celtics fans, including Jackie, just let go and move on from the Irving debacle?  

It's on to the Bucks.

Jackie MacMullan is an award winning reporter including being the first woman in 2010 to be awarded the Curt Gowdy Award from the NBA Hall of Fame. Ascribing unknowable motives to other people (particularly those of high merit) is slimy pseudo-journalism that Felger gets away with because he's in electronic media talk shows. Maybe Kyrie is not bipolar or otherwise mentally ill but just a prick...who knows. All Ms. MacMullan wrote was that he had strong mood swings while the Nets were in China and nobody could figure out why that was. It's called reporting.

BingBang! wrote:Jackie MacMullan is an award winning reporter including being the first woman in 2010 to be awarded the Curt Gowdy Award from the NBA Hall of Fame. Ascribing unknowable motives to other people (particularly those of high merit) is slimy pseudo-journalism that Felger gets away with because he's in electronic media talk shows. Maybe Kyrie is not bipolar or otherwise mentally ill but just a prick...who knows. All Ms. MacMullan wrote was that he had strong mood swings while the Nets were in China and nobody could figure out why that was. It's called reporting.

Enough of Kyrie Irving.  That is the point I am making.  It is not about Jackie or that idiot Felger.  Who cares about his moods?  We don't.  The only thing we should care about is beating the Nets.

dboss wrote:

BingBang! wrote:Jackie MacMullan is an award winning reporter including being the first woman in 2010 to be awarded the Curt Gowdy Award from the NBA Hall of Fame. Ascribing unknowable motives to other people (particularly those of high merit) is slimy pseudo-journalism that Felger gets away with because he's in electronic media talk shows. Maybe Kyrie is not bipolar or otherwise mentally ill but just a prick...who knows. All Ms. MacMullan wrote was that he had strong mood swings while the Nets were in China and nobody could figure out why that was. It's called reporting.

Enough of Kyrie Irving.  That is the point I am making.  It is not about Jackie or that idiot Felger.  Who cares about his moods?  We don't.  The only thing we should care about is beating the Nets.

True, I wanted to defend a good journalist and maybe help a misguided poster who may not know that journalism can be a true profession. Second, I'm glad Kryie the basketball player left because his style of play wasn't good for the Celts and in particular Brad's offensive system.

BingBang! wrote:

dboss wrote:

BingBang! wrote:Jackie MacMullan is an award winning reporter including being the first woman in 2010 to be awarded the Curt Gowdy Award from the NBA Hall of Fame. Ascribing unknowable motives to other people (particularly those of high merit) is slimy pseudo-journalism that Felger gets away with because he's in electronic media talk shows. Maybe Kyrie is not bipolar or otherwise mentally ill but just a prick...who knows. All Ms. MacMullan wrote was that he had strong mood swings while the Nets were in China and nobody could figure out why that was. It's called reporting.

Enough of Kyrie Irving.  That is the point I am making.  It is not about Jackie or that idiot Felger.  Who cares about his moods?  We don't.  The only thing we should care about is beating the Nets.

True, I wanted to defend a good journalist and maybe help a misguided poster who may not know that journalism can be a true profession. Second, I'm glad Kryie the basketball player left because his style of play wasn't good for the Celts and in particular Brad's offensive system.

"journalism can be a true profession"


That is what I have been telling my son KJ as he continues to work on his journalism degree at Georgia State.

cowens/oldschool wrote:This guy has serious mental disorders....wouldn’t even say hi to Mike Gorman...??? Kyrie you don’t have to take him out to dinner, just say flip* hi back if someone says hi.

Mike Gorman- The nicest and most humble guy you could meet and Kyrie snubs him.
Kyrie can go straight to hell or wait to be sent there!

Ktronic1 wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:This guy has serious mental disorders....wouldn’t even say hi to Mike Gorman...??? Kyrie you don’t have to take him out to dinner, just say flip* hi back if someone says hi.

Mike Gorman- The nicest and most humble guy you could meet and Kyrie snubs him.
Kyrie can go straight to hell or wait to be sent there!

Right, how could you not enjoy meeting a guy like that....

But, to Gorman’s credit, he never said a bad word about Irving on TV or interview. Class act all the way. We should all do what he has done, put this subject down the toilet!!

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2863711-stephen-a-im-not-hearing-good-things-about-kyrie-irvings-attitude-with-nets



Stephen A: I'm 'Not Hearing Good Things' About Kyrie Irving's Attitude with Nets



TIM DANIELS
NOVEMBER 21, 2019



DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 14: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on during the game against the Denver Nuggets on November 14, 2019 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.  Bart Young/Getty Images




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:


SNY

@SNYtv
"That is completely false" – Kenny Atkinson on the Kyrie Irving report

https://twitter.com/SNYtv/status/1189234260387008513
158
9:35 AM - Oct 29, 2019


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.


bob
MY NOTE:  Danny, do NOT give that asshole a tribute video.  I wish we could have gotten something back for him but other than that I don't miss him for a NY second.    

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