For the first time in almost a decade, the player returned the bill with a red mark on it after checking the limits of what could be expressed or disclosed with a black card labeled Empowerment.
Kiri Irving played a long game of chicken with the Brooklyn Nets and the Nets called his bluff in a movement showing organizational nuclei, Irving said in a statement, and his presence in actual voice would not be determined by his schedule, but by him.
Either he or Kevin Durant played Jack Nicholson and ordered Code Red. Irving’s word salad, false promises, and eye-popping explanations eventually fell on deaf ears because the net used some wit-and most likely, Irving became wary.
And quietly, Ben Simmons appeared in Philadelphia and thought he would never do it again, even though it seemed too easy to diagnose Irving with Nate while the relationship was going on.
It’s kind of a pushback.
Neither Irving nor Simmons are the only headliners for their respective franchises. And Simmons believes he has been misled by management and his coach, thus taking a hard line on his presence and hoping his authenticity will be transferred to a new gym in a new city.
He rolled his eyes – for now.
It wasn’t that the 76ers insisted and refused to give a player a four-year balance on his contract. The franchisee struck an unprecedented deal to withhold pay and call Simmons a bluff, at the same time asking for the moon and stars in exchange for his services in the market.
This volatile situation doesn’t have to take a turn yet, as Simmons is still facing a locker room in Philadelphia.
The sound of the locker room in Brooklyn was loud and clear as Sean Marks, general manager of the Nets, realized that Durant, James Harden and Joe Harris, among others, were involved in the decision to essentially deactivate Irving until he was vaccinated – if he chose. Not to mention those names by mistake, Irving drew a line by sending a message to his teammates. It wasn’t long before Harden was working before moving to Houston, and he was saying, “Hey, Kiri, this is extreme.”
The blessings and curses of the NBA are high on the actions and perceptions of the top 1%. Most players can tour like disposable pieces, but the NBA is a so-called league of player empowerment. More than 95% of NBA players have been vaccinated, but the picture looks different as some notable staff are reluctant to vaccinate or explicitly refuse.
Commissioner Adam Silver has not yet spoken on the matter, although it is doubtful whether he will arrive in time. And the best belief is that he is hearing from team-owned groups around the league who are waiting for the next round of collective bargaining to use the version of their unexpected results.
But at the moment, such trivial things don’t matter.
Irving is rich and clever, but more confusing and silly than his insights. His career has been consistently fraught with inconsistencies, yet he looks forward to the respect and admiration of his peers and the public.
He has become a basketball martyr in his own mind and is the ultimate distraction tool for the dishonest as well as for a team that needs to create some sweat equity for his upcoming journey.
Even if it is just a formality, the perception of professionalism should be nurtured by the players. This is considered good before the belief that everyone in the locker room is working independently according to salary or status with the same goal.
And Irving refused to be vaccinated, even for the benefit of his colleagues, forcing everyone’s hand. He had no reason to believe that full power was not perfect because players like him – smart, young, capable, charismatic – didn’t get what they wanted and didn’t get what they wanted.
It’s been the same for the last decade, but the guard rail has expanded even further – players are using the power of their talents, teams are leaning as the moment calls. Anthony Davis made it clear to him that he wanted to get out of New Orleans, and even though it was ugly and trivial on both sides, he went to his desired destination: Los Angeles.
How sausage kebabs are made is often forgotten over time and is relatively easy.
Irving doesn’t want to work according to different rules, it seems he wants full autonomy – and for someone like him it can seem like chaos.
When Irving “or as a proxy for the net guard” part of his anti-wax role revolves around becoming a voice for the voiceless, no one assumes that those people are voiceless because they are dead or are on life support in Covid-19 wards
So it is mandatory to take pushback.
