LA is considered a major contender for his services.
Brooklyn Nets All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, who yesterday morning blew up the NBA news cycle in demanding to be dealt from the 30-21 Nets prior to the league’s impending February 9th trade deadline, took to Twitter last night to clarify what happened and offer a surprisingly measured, mature take on his recent actions —
I’m just kidding, he did this:
For those of you not versed in Irving-speak, Hélà is the Lakota name given to Irving in a 2018 North Dakota naming ceremony, per Stephen Noh of Sporting News. Irving has ties to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe via his birth mother, who passed when he was four.
That Bob Marley and the Wailers lyric he’s quoting, “Don’t let them fool ya,” stems from his immortal hit “Could You Be Loved”, off Bob’s final studio album, “Uprising.” The full verse is as follows:
Don’t let them fool ya
Or even try to school ya
We’ve got a mind of our own
So go to hell if what you thinkin’ is not right
Love would never leave us alone
Ah in the darkness, there must come out to light”
Is Irving accusing media reports of misrepresenting the circumstances surrounding his trade demand? Or of being less than truthful about his interest in being traded at all? Who knows?
Despite his inscrutable recent tweeting, Irving remains absurdly gifted on the hardwood, and is widely considered to be one of the best ball handlers in league history. The 30-year-old is averaging 27.1 points on .486/.374/.883 shooting splits, 5.3 assists, 5.1 rebounds and one assist a night for a Nets team that had looked like one of the best teams in its conference, having weathered some early-season drama surrounding Irving and seemingly emerged stronger and more connected. At least, until yesterday.
That is the blessing and curse of Kyrie Irving. He’s still one of the league’s elite point guards on the floor, but a total head case off it, capable of (and prone to) abandoning his team at literally any moment.
Your Los Angeles Lakers, considered a frontrunner for his services should Brooklyn give in to his demands, are probably desperate enough to trade both their movable future first round draft picks to add him to its All-Star core of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. James, of course, won a title with Irving on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
Brooklyn is under no obligation to move on from Irving at the deadline, though Irving has threatened to leave the club as a free agent this summer if it does not flip him.
