Reports: Kyrie Irving to sit out until Nets trade him, and possibly rest of season if they don’t

Feb 5, 2023 - 4:24 PM

As Kyrie Irving continues to wait for the Brooklyn Nets to acquiesce to his latest trade demand and send him to the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, LA Clippers or some other team that agrees to pay him what he wants, don’t expect to see him on the court — or answering questions from the media that would come if he were to suit up — prior to Thursday, Feb. 9’s NBA trade deadline.

According to Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report — remember, the same reporter that got Irving’s stepmother/agent to go on the record about the Nets not extending him, and as well plugged-in as anyone so far on this whole saga — the Nets are not going to have Irving to play until they trade him, surely a decision that the Nets made on their own and definitely had nothing to do with Irving not wanting to play until he gets the contract he wants:

Obviously, his calf is just really, really sore. Thank goodness he is “consistently in the lineup” and the Nets “don’t have halfway in anybody in the locker room” this season, right? Otherwise, this whole thing would be weird!

In the semi-unlikely event Irving is not traded before Thursday, Brian Lewis of The New York Post reports that Irving has yet to make a decision on whether he will play for the Nets again this season, or just do what he did last year and stay at home — not playing basketball despite having a contract — until his newest demands are met:

I, for one, am shocked (shocked!) that Kyrie Irving — who, again, has only played more than 60 games once in the five seasons prior to this one — has found another reason to sit out games. Surely this will be the last time this happens, and whatever team acquires him will be able to count on him to suit up every possible night he is available.

For all the latest heading into the NBA trade deadline, check out our Silver Screen and Roll Lakers trade rumors tracker.