Kyrie Irving isn’t staying silent.
The Nets star, in the midst of an off-season rife with rumors surrounding his future, appeared to call out NBA insider Ric Bucher on Friday (AEST).
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Bucher, on his “On the Ball” podcast, reported that Irving had some requests for his next contract after he chose to opt in for one year at $AUD51 million with Brooklyn this summer.
“[Nets owner] “Joe Tsai has already shown he’s willing to play hardball with Kyrie by taking a max extension off the table almost immediately,” Bucher said.
“Now, part of that may be Kyrie’s doing. I’m told he wanted his new contract to guarantee he wouldn’t have to play more than 60 games in a season and wouldn’t have to play any back-to-backs, which he apparently referred to as inhumane.”
Irving responded to a tweet quoting his so-called demands with a GIF of a baseball player doffing his hat, indicating that Bucher is “capping,” or “lying.”
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The 30-year-old, whose agent disputed a Post report this week that he hates Nets GM Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash, followed up with an apparent swipe at the media.
“When you’re ready to break free from the media’s control over your subconscious thoughts and emotions, meet me on one of my platforms and let’s chop it up,” he tweeted.
“We the A11Even tribe love our conversations about the TRUTH and what is truly happening. Welcome to the PARADIGM SHIFT.”
Irving has been at or around the center of many of Brooklyn’s recent woes.
The guard missed a sizeable chunk of the 2021-22 season because of local and Canadian vaccine mandates, which reportedly played a role in All-Star James Harden requesting a trade from the Nets.
Irving has seen his name pop up in trade rumors — notably involving the Lakers and LeBron James — with his running mate Kevin Durant reportedly telling Tsai to either fire Marks and Nash or trade him.
This story originally appeared on the New York Post and has been reposted with permission
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