Tag: kyrie irving

Kyrie Irving has harsh comment about Mavs in ‘clusterf—k’

Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving seems to have a bleak outlook on the team’s playoff hopes.

After a 116-108 loss to the Sixers on Wednesday, Dallas dropped to the No. 11 seed in the west — and one spot out of the play-in tournament.

Irving — who was seen chirping back and forth with a fan during the contest at Wells Fargo Center — let an F-bomb fly while discussing where Dallas ranks in the standings.

“What does our future look like?” Irving said postgame when asked about being traded midseason for the first time in his career. “I think that now, again, just where we are in the season, and where other teams are positioned already, it kind of looks like a bit of a clusterf–k, to be honest with you.

“Because we’re 37-40, and we’re trying to get into the play-in game. It’s not the expectations I don’t think any of us had in that locker room and me getting traded midseason.”


Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving dribbles during the third quarter against the 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on March 29, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Getty Images

Irving — who was traded from the Nets to the Mavericks last month — said he wanted to finish out the season as a Net.

“I didn’t expect to ask for a trade at that point in the season,” he said.

“So I wanted to finish out with Brooklyn, finish out with the season that we had going and I didn’t get a chance to do that.

“So some of the goals I had previously this season had to be shifted, and I had to be more than willing, which I am, to be flexible and adaptable and live with the result, whether we make the playoffs or not.”


Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving shoots the ball against the 76ers on March 29, 2023 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving shoots the ball against the 76ers on March 29, 2023 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
NBAE via Getty Images

Irving added that his time in Dallas so far has been “great,” despite losing.

“I just have to be at peace with where I am and which I am, and trust of the guys that I’m going to be in that war room with every single day,” said Irving, who turned 31 last week.

“It’s been nothing but great here…so it’s been good, outside of the losses, of course. We’d like to win every game.”

Irving finished with 23 points, six rebounds and five assists in Wednesday’s loss at Philadelphia, where he appeared to take issue with a fan.

The eight-time All-Star appeared agitated in the first quarter while talking with the referee about the fan.

That came after Irving had another fan removed midway through Sunday’s 110-104 loss to the Hornets — Dallas’ fourth straight.

“He just called me out, my name,” Irving told reporters after the contest at Spectrum Center. “So I just had to make sure I looked him eye-to-eye, and see if he’d say it to my face.”


Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving gestures to the crowd in the second quarter against the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 27, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Getty Images

Two days prior, the Mavericks were booed by the home crowd in a 117-109 loss to the Hornets — with Dallas head coach Jason Kidd likening the team’s effort to “dogsh–t.”

Earlier this month, Irving got into another verbal spat with a fan during an eventual loss to the Pelicans.

“There’s nothing like fans trying to tell me how to play basketball,” Irving said while looking toward crowd at Smoothie King Center. 

After the game, Irving — who is a free agent this summer — went off on fans and the media in a Twitch rant, calling out those that believe they know the real him after watching him play basketball.

The Mavericks went 3-7 in their last 10 games.

They are 8-14 since acquiring Irving.

Dallas is currently a half game above No. 12 Utah — and one game behind No. 10 Oklahoma City Thunder for a spot in the play-in tournament. 

The Mavericks visit the Heat on Saturday, followed by the Hawks, Kings, Bulls and Spurs to close out the season.



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Spencer Dinwiddie would take extra ‘pride’ winning title for Nets

Spencer Dinwiddie is back in Brooklyn — and so is his sense of humor.

Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith joined the Nets on Tuesday after they were acquired from the Mavericks in the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to Dallas. And when Dinwiddie, who played for the Nets from 2016-21, walked into their introductory press conference, he noted, “Hey, there’s more of you than there used to be.”

He explained the acquisition of him and Finney-Smith: “I understand that we might not be the best trade package, but we’re the best looking. And the Nets need some help in that department.”

Clearly Dinwiddie has kept the same wit he flashed during is first stint in Brooklyn. In some ways, it was his torn ACL just three games into his final season off 2020-21 that set the Nets down the path they’ve been on. That season-ending injury precipitated the Nets’ trade for James Harden.

Dinwiddie was traded to Washington in August 2021, then moved on to Dallas, and now is back where his ascension to legitimate NBA starter began.


Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie (26) and son Elijah during the first half of the Nets’ game against the Suns on Monday.
Robert Sabo for NY Post

“That was crazy cause we were rolling people through preseason, through the first couple games, I got hurt, then obviously the trade went down, understandably so. Being in win-now mode, when you’ve got possibly the greatest scorer of all time. It’s a blessing to play competitive basketball,” Dinwiddie said. “I have no interest in playing losing basketball and understand the type of talent we have.

“It’s gonna be fun, and yeah to a degree it is a second bite of the apple. And although I wanted to win one for Dallas, obviously there’s a certain level of pride there would be to bring a championship to Brooklyn over any other organization in the league. … It’d still be more prideful doing it here, just because in a lot of ways it made my career. So, proud to be back, happy to be back and always appreciative.”

Finney-Smith — who grew up near his new teammate Cam Thomas in Virginia, and said the Nets guard has always been “a bucket” — is a defense-minded forward who can guard 3 through 5.

“I plan on guarding the best player on the court, I take the challenge in that,” Finney-Smith said. “You ain’t got to draw up a play for me. I’m going to find ways to get involved and be aggressive. Just a winning mentality, I’m going to bring that to the team.”


Dorian Finney-Smith (l.) and Spencer Dinwiddie on the Nets bench on Tuesday night.
Robert Sabo for NY Post

Dinwiddie gushed over Finney-Smith, saying: “[He] picks up full court, guards a big, shoots 40 percent from 3 in a normal year, rangy, athletic. I ain’t met a guy he can’t guard … outside of me.”

Cam Thomas, after scoring 43 points in the Nets’ 116-112 loss to the Suns on Tuesday night, is the youngest player in NBA history to score 40 or more points in three consecutive games, at 21 years, 117 days. He’s the first player in the Nets’ NBA history to top 40 in three straight.

Ben Simmons returned to the Nets’ lineup after missing the previous five games with left knee soreness, but he was underwhelming.

He played 26:30, but scored just two points. He did finish with four rebounds and six assists, but also turned the ball over four times.

The Nets acquired the draft rights to David Michineau, 28, from the Kings in exchange for Kessler Edwards and cash. Michineau, who was drafted by the Pelicans in the second round in 2016, plays for Napoli Basket in Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A.

Two-way David Duke Jr. will participate in the G-League Next Up Game on Feb. 19 (3 p.m.) during All-Star Weekend.

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Kyrie Irving felt ‘disrespected’ by Nets before Mavericks trade

When it came to Kyrie Irving forcing his way out of Brooklyn, the now former Net said he wanted to be somewhere he felt “celebrated” rather than “tolerated.”

Irving met with the media Tuesday for the first time since being traded to the Mavericks on Sunday.

“I just know I wanna be places where I’m celebrated and not just tolerated or just dealt with in a way that doesn’t make me feel respected,” Irving said. “There were times throughout this process when I was in Brooklyn where I felt very disrespected.

“I work extremely hard at what I do. No one ever talks about my work ethic, though. Everyone talks about what I’m doing off the floor.”

Off the floor is where Irving got himself into hot water, though, be it with his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which meant he wasn’t available for 35 Nets home games last season, or with his endorsement of an anti-Semitic film this season and subsequent initial obstinance toward an apology afterward that ultimately led to a suspension.

Asked what specifically the Nets did to make him feel the way he did, Irving declined to say.

“That’s another day where I could really go into detail about it,” he said.

Ultimately the Nets decided they’d heard enough and that Irving wasn’t worth the trouble, despite his averaging 27.1 points, 5.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds this season. After Irving demanded last week to be dealt by the Feb. 9 deadline or he’d walk in free agency this summer, Brooklyn shipped the eight-time All-Star, along with veteran big man Markieff Morris, to the Mavericks for guard Spencer Dinwiddie, forward Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick and 2027 and 2029 second-rounders.


The Nets traded Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks earlier this week.
AP

Irving’s three-plus-year Nets career lasted just 143 out of a possible 280 games.

He added that while he didn’t feel the organization respected him, he doesn’t hold anything against anyone there, citing close relationships he said he still maintains with people from previous teams in Cleveland and Boston.

“I need healthy boundaries,” Irving said. “There’s a lot of disrespect that goes on with people’s families, with their names. … It’s nothing personal against any of those guys in the front office, it’s just what I’m willing to accept.”

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Mayor Adams makes a parting shot at Kyrie Irving after trade to Mavericks

Mayor Eric Adams had a bit of trash talk for Kyrie Irving Monday morning following news that the talented but oft-troubled player will be traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Dallas Mavericks.

During an interview with morning host Pat Kiernan on NY1, Adams was asked to envision City Hall as a professional sports team and Irving as a staffer.

“If City Hall was a professional sports team, and you had an employee who gave you as much drama as Kyrie Irving is giving to the Brooklyn Nets, what would you do if that employee said could you trade me – would you do the trade?” Kiernan asked, prompting a chuckle from Adams.

The mayor replied, “I will find the team that beats us the most and send him to that team, because then we’ll start beating that team.”


Mayor Adams laughed when asked to envision City Hall as a professional sports team before appearing to slight Kyrie Irving after it was announced the Brooklyn Net would be traded.
Spectrum News NY1

“It’s about synergy in energy. No matter how much talent you have, your ability to interact with your colleagues is more important,” Adams continued.

“One player can bring down the synergy of the team – and so I would send him to the team that beats us the most so we can start winning better.”

The Nets traded Irving and veteran forward Markieff Morris to the Mavericks in exchange for guard Spencer Dinwiddie, forward Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round selection and 2027 and 2029 second-rounders. 


The talented but troubled player joined the Nets in 2019 but played very few games after refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Getty Images

Irving came to Brooklyn in 2019 but played a measly 143 out of a possible 278 games due to his refusal to adhere to New York’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Even after missing nearly two-thirds of the season, Irving ripped Adam’s move to end New York City’s private employer vaccine mandate – a policy he kept in place for city workers.

Irving took to social media in September to blast the policy, writing: “If I can work and be unvaccinated, then all of my brothers and sisters who are also unvaccinated should be able to do the same, without being discriminated against, vilified, or fired.”

He continued: “This enforced Vaccine/Pandemic is one the biggest violations of HUMAN RIGHTS in history.”


Irving has made prior comments about Adams and his COVID-19 policies.
Spectrum News NY1

His criticisms came even after Adams lifted the private sector vaccination mandate for professional athletes and performers in local venues, allowing Irving to play home games at the Barclays Center.

This season, Irving was suspended without pay for eight games after he promoted an anti-Semitic movie and has had several contentious contract negotiations — the last one being the final breaking point.



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Undersized Nets outmatched by Celtics in lopsided loss

BOSTON — Styles make fights — but so does size. And the undersized Nets were never in this one, battered around and beaten up 139-96 by the Celtics on Wednesday night.

How bad was it? Boston dominated so thoroughly, from wire-to-wire that the sellout crowd of 19,156 at TD Garden didn’t even bother to boo Public Enemy No. 1 Kyrie Irving by the end. Whatever punishment they wanted to exact on their former player, the Celtics already had, leading by as much as 49 in a thorough thrashing.

The Nets played without Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons and T.J. Warren against a team with more big, talented wings than anybody in the league. Their Hobbit-esque lineup — with Irving (20 points, minus-31) and Seth Curry in the backcourt together — got predictably overwhelmed, just like it had in the past.


Nets forward Joe Harris (12) passes the ball while pressured by Boston Celtics center Al Horford on Wednesday.
AP

Jayson Tatum had a game-high 31 points, and Jaylen Brown added 26 as Boston sprinted out to a 27-4 lead. It got far worse from there, the Nets punching up a weight class or three against the much bigger Celtics (37-15), and spending almost the entire evening on the mat.

The Nets (31-20) have now dropped 10 straight to Boston, including last season’s humiliating first-round playoff sweep that rocked the franchise and brought on some soul searching. Wednesday was as humbling as any one of those defeats.

“They are just a unique group,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn acknowledged, before what would become by far the worst loss of his tenure since replacing Steve Nash. “The fact Brown and Tatum — what they are capable of doing at the size — just creates a different challenge for every team, especially for us if we are going to start Ky and Seth. So, it becomes, how can we help those two guys?


Jason Tatum drives to the basket against the Nets on Wednesday night.
AP

“That’s where Joe [Harris], Royce [O’Neale] and Nic [Claxton] fit in. Nic has to be exceptional — and that’s on both ends of the floor, being a threat at the rim on offense and defense and being able to keep Williams off the glass. They do some things where they get crossmatched a little bit, so hopefully we can take advantage of that. We won’t change who we are and hopefully use our bench.”

It didn’t happen, out-rebounded 57-32 and beaten 30-10 on the fast break.

The Nets watched the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics scorch them on .576 shooting, and 26 of 54 from 3-point range. Cam Thomas had 19 off the bench, with no other Net higher than Harris’ dozen.


The Celtics laugh it up on the bench during their win over the Nets on Wednesday.
NBAE via Getty Images

A year ago this week — last Feb. 8 — the Nets had taken a 126-91 beating at the hands of Boston. In that one, they’d fallen behind 14-0 and 28-2.They reenacted the nightmare again Wednesday, in by far the Nets’ worst showing since losing Durant to a sprained MCL on Jan. 8.Their previous worst effort in this 11-game span had been an 11-point loss at home to these same Celtics in the game immediately following Durant’s injury. They’d already hit that deficit 3:31 into Wednesday’s game, behind 14-3 on Brown’s pull-up 3-pointer.That deficit hit 27-4 on a Tatum pull-up 3 with 5:35 left in the first, the Nets shooting a wretched 1 of 11 while Boston had hit 11 of 17. It looked like a misprint, but it wasn’t the scoreboard that was malfunctioning, but the Nets.

The Nets trailed 46-16 after the opening quarter, the biggest first-quarter lead in Celtics’ franchise history — and the 17-time champions have a ton of history. The deficit ballooned to 34 at halftime and 38 to end the third quarter.

By the time Luke Kornet’s running dunk pushed it to a mind-bending 127-78 with 7:32 left to play, the contest was for all intents and purposes over. The benches had been cleared and the rest was garbage time.

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Kyrie Irving coming on strong as Nets adjust without Kevin Durant

SAN FRANCISCO — When Kevin Durant sprained his right MCL two weeks ago, Kyrie Irving was deferring and the Nets were struggling.

Now, Irving is leading.

That doesn’t mean chucking up wild shots or playing hero-ball. It does mean being fully engaged, putting his body on the line for his teammates. It does mean not getting in his own feelings, but being a positive influence. Oh, and it does mean having the ball in his hands during winning time and scoring. In bunches.

“Every night I try to put myself in that place, in that zone,” Irving said. “Specifically in the fourth quarter when it’s winning time.”

Irving will enter the Nets’ game at the Warriors on Sunday red-hot, having scored 69 points in his last five quarters. On consecutive nights, he put up 21 points in fourth quarters at Phoenix and Utah.

“It’s like he’s in a different world. He’s locked-in. He’s in a different type of zone and makes those big shots time and time again,” Nic Claxton said of Irving.

Kyrie Irving makes a move on Larry Nance during the Nets’ win over the Pelicans.
Getty Images

“That’s what he does,” Royce O’Neale added. “Right now he’s leading us, and we follow his lead. We’re trusting him, he’s trusting us. So to see him go off like that is always special. You could just tell he had it going.”

Irving didn’t have it going immediately after Durant went down on Jan. 8 in Miami, not really. Over the next four games, Irving missed one contest and shot just 19-for-60 through the 11 quarters he played. That is, until his revival Thursday at Phoenix.

After pouring in 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting in the final period against the Suns, he scored 48 points on 18-for-29 shooting Friday to beat the Jazz. That’s the form he will carries into Sunday against the Warriors.

“I don’t think [50 points nightly] is an unrealistic expectation,” Irving said, only half-joking. “I have the trust from [coach] Jacque [Vaughn] to be able to make plays down the stretch. … We’ve been able to develop a dialogue that continues to grow game-to-game. So it gives me a lot of confidence in the fourth quarter to be able to perform that way.”

Part of that dialogue was putting the ball in Irving’s hands. After Irving did too much watching while other Nets struggled to create — for instance, playing off the ball while Ben Simmons got minutes at the point, and struggled — Vaughn unleashed Irving on the pick-and-roll, and the results have been spectacular.

“In the fourth quarter of Phoenix we really found a good rhythm. And the spacing that we had, we wanted to go back to that,” Vaughn said. “His ability to play pick-and-roll is going to garner so much attention, especially when he shoots the 3 ball.

“We have bigs who are able to catch in the half roll and play-make also. So putting shooters around him — Seth [Curry], Joe [Harris], Royce, Yuta [Watanabe] — is pretty lethal when he has the basketball in his hands and is playing pick-and-roll.”

The Nets didn’t look lethal in their first three games without Durant, hitting .286 from 3-point range. But they shot .423 against the Suns and .439 versus the Jazz.

Irving’s offense also has benefitted from his engagement on defense. He grabbed 11 boards, had four steals and even took a pair of charges Friday, getting himself going.

“It set the tone, just shows how much he wants to win. He’s doing the little things that counts, taking the leadership right now that Kevin’s out,” O’Neale said.

“I talked about just getting out of my own way and really thinking team first and put my body on the line and leading by example. … When I could get it going on defense and do the little things, it really makes a difference for me and I’m dialed in,” said Irving, who downplayed the showdown Sunday with Golden State superstar Stephen Curry.

“That’s the foundation of us growing throughout this process is me getting out of my own way and allowing the other guys to help. …The ups and downs are going to come and go, but we have to stay poised and consistent. And it starts with me showing up every day and leading by example, and putting my body on the line and doing whatever it takes to win.”

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Kyrie Irving pours in 48 points to lift Nets over Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY — Kyrie Irving kept up the red-hot form he found Thursday against the Suns — and he showed the Nets actually can win a game without Kevin Durant. 

Irving poured in a game-high 48 points and the Nets pulled out a 117-106 victory over the Jazz before a sellout crowd of 18,206 at Vivint Arena. And unlike a night earlier at Phoenix, this time Irving’s brilliance was more than enough. 

He scored the most points by a Net this season, hit a season-high eight 3-pointers, tied his season high with 11 rebounds and added six assists. In short, he did it all, and he did it when the Nets needed it most — pouring in 21 points in the fourth quarter alone. 

The back-and-forth affair was knotted at 102-all after a Jordan Clarkson basket with 3:18 left, but Irving responded with a 3-pointer just 17 seconds later to give the Nets a lead they never surrendered. Center Nic Claxton (20 points, five rebounds) then blocked Clarkson on Utah’s next trip downcourt, and Seth Curry hit another 3-pointer to make it 108-102 with 2:18 remaining. 

Kyrie Irving, left, celebrates during the Nets’ win over the Jazz on Jan. 20.
Getty Images

The Nets (28-17) finished the game off and made sure it didn’t get to overtime. The win snapped an 0-4 skid since Kevin Durant went down on Jan. 8 in Miami with a sprained right MCL. Durant is still in a knee brace, and won’t be reevaluated until early next week. 

On Thursday in Phoenix, the Nets clearly hadn’t been even moderately focused at the start, spotting the Suns a 24-point lead in the third quarter before Irving scored 21 in the fourth. They ended up losing that game 117-112, but Friday they won. 

The Nets didn’t fix their flaws, as much as overcome them against the Jazz. They still got battered on the glass, and committed entirely too many fouls. But they found a way to win, with Claxton and a couple of timely stops proving to be enough. 

The game was a seesaw affair. 

Irving scored seven points in a 14-0 Nets run, and his 15-foot jumper put the Nets ahead 16-5 with 6:40 left in the first quarter. 

A Clarkson bucket snapped the run, but Royce O’Neale drilled a 3-pointer to put the Nets up 24-11 with 4:37 left in the first. 

Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 48 points.
USA TODAY Sports

Their lead was at 12 early in the second, when Claxton sailed in unopposed for a tip dunk. That gave the Nets a 36-24 cushion with 10:07 left in the half. Naturally, they couldn’t hold it, their familiar recent frailties still on full display. 

The Nets got mauled on the offensive glass and faced a huge disparity at the free throw line, not taking a single foul shot until there were nearly four minutes left in the first half. When they went ice-cold from the floor, the Jazz went on a 14-0 run of their own. 

The Nets missed six straight shots and committed a couple of turnovers. And by the time they let Collin Sexton get free for a reverse layup, they trailed 38-36 with 5:34 to go in the half. 

Jordan Clarkson kept the Jazz close with 29 points.
NBAE via Getty Images

They trailed 67-61 early in the second half after an all-too-easy Walker Kessler dunk. 

But the Nets responded with a 17-5 run to swing the momentum again. O’Neale found Yuta Watanabe for a huge 3-pointer to cap the spurt and put the Nets ahead 78-72 with 2:55 left in the third. 

It was knotted at 83-all going into the fourth. 

It was still tied at 92-all after a Sexton reverse with 8:27 to play, but that’s when the Nets edged ahead with seven unanswered points. 

Two Curry free throws 17 seconds later gave the Nets the lead. Then Claxton followed with an alley-oop, and an Irving 3-pointer made it 99-92 with 7:24 to play. 

The Nets never trailed again.

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Nets’ Ben Simmons ejected after controversial call

PHOENIX — On a maddening night for the Nets, one scene encapsulated their frustration better than words ever could.

Ben Simmons got whistled for his fifth foul for a moving pick — one multiple veteran scouts agreed was suspect — then got hit with technical from the bench. Seconds later he got ejected, his night against the Suns over with seven points and six assists.

The Nets went on to lose 117-112 before 17,071 at Footprint Center.

“I think you’re going to call the game like that, then you got to be consistent. I think it’s been like that all year,” Simmons said. “I think if you’re going to call it a moving pick, you got to be consistent on both ends. Same with the holding.”

The Nets were down 73-55, and though the clock read 8:47 left in the third quarter, this contest was long over.

“It’s tough. I’m going to be physical,” Simmons said. “I’m a 6-foot-10 guy who likes to guard certain guys. I’m going to be physical. I’m not going to tone it down because the refs don’t want to see the physicality.

Ben Simmons exits the court after getting ejected in the third quarter of the Nets’ 117-112 loss to the Suns.
USA TODAY Sports

“I’m 6-10, 240, and I’m guarding these guys. It is what it is. There’s obviously going to be certain calls you’ve got to make, but … I don’t know.”

The Nets conceded 41 free throws and took just 25. It has been an ongoing issue, one Jacque Vaughn chalked up to poor defensive positioning to start plays.

Kyrie Irving returned from a one-game absence because of right calf soreness. He didn’t require an MRI exam and both he and the Nets downplayed the injury.

“Just trying to take care of my body for a long term,” Irving said. He also had missed the Nets’ win over the Warriors with a similar injury, but said it wasn’t a nagging or reoccurring issue. “Taking care of my body for the long term. That’s all.”

Vaughn said it was simply Irving listening to his body, and the team listening to their star guard.

“It’s pretty much when an athlete comes to you and say they’re not feeling up to par and you listen to him, whether it was Joe (Harris) at one point this season, whether it was Ben (Simmons) with the late scratch,” said Vaughn. “Ky just reported some tightness and we listened. That’s it.”

Kevin Durant (right MCL sprain) was out, along with David Duke Jr., Kessler Edwards, and Dru Smith all on G League assignment.

Chris Paul didn’t play for Phoenix after he had been questionable with right hip soreness.

Cameron Johnson returned from a right meniscus tear, after missing 37 straight games. He had 19 points and hit 6-of-9 from deep.

But Devin Booker (left groin strain), Landry Shamet (right foot soreness), Cameron Payne (right foot sprain), Josh Okogie (nasal fracture) and Jae Crowder were all out for Phoenix.

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Defiant Kyrie Irving blew off Steve Nash’s Nets play calls

As a veteran with years in both the Eastern and Western Conferences, the advance scout had seen just about everything on the basketball court. But he’d never seen this. 

In the Nets’ Oct. 29 loss to the Pacers — one of the last games before Kyrie Irving was suspended — the All-Star guard didn’t just wave off the play called by then-coach Steve Nash. On 10 separate occasions, Nash called a specific play and the scout watched Irving do something entirely different. 

That wasn’t simple creativity, something to be expected from the uniquely electrifying All-Star. No, it was double-digit defiance. 

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” the scout told The Post. “Nash would call something, and he’d run the opposite. I’ve never seen anything like that.” 

After one more game — ironically a victory over those same Pacers — the Nets parted ways with Nash. 

“We both felt that this was time. It was certainly trending in that way,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said at the time. “And to be quite frank, the team was not doing what it was supposed to be doing.” 

Kyrie Irving defied coach Steve Nash’s play calls, wowing one veteran scout.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Literally and figuratively. It was a double entendre from Marks, as the Nets not only were not winning, but also were not following game plans. 

Those problems are not unrelated. 

A source close to the situation told The Post that Nash was “technically the coach,” but that no matter what game plan he gave the Nets, “they did whatever they wanted.” 

Irving was not the only culprit. There were rampant busted coverages, including Ben Simmons letting a screener slip to the basket thinking Royce O’Neale would take him, though he didn’t. There was Kevin Durant fussing at Joe Harris after a made basket because he felt a pass should’ve come his way. Example after example of disarray. 

“They were the most dysfunctional team I’ve seen [in years],” another scout told The Post. 

But the new Nets have acquitted themselves much better. 

Nash was fired four games ago, and Irving was suspended three games ago. And now, this disjointed bunch is starting to look like a team. 

“It’s hard to win and it’s hard to get everybody on the same page. So that’s what we were — we were on the same page,” Durant said. 

“Total trust,” said interim coach Jacque Vaughn, who has replaced Nash. “The group [has] trusted each other.” 

It remains to be seen if that’s the proverbial “new coach bump” or if it’s sustainable under Vaughn. It’s even unclear at what point the Nets might replace Vaughn, with Ime Udoka or somebody else. 

Kyrie Irving and Nets interim coach Jacque Vaughn.
Corey Sipkin for the NY POST

What is obvious is they’re playing not just harder, but together. 

“A lot of the defensive stuff is just effort,” Joe Harris said. “Guys are flying around, we’re sticking to the game plan, covering for each other and just playing really disciplined on that end these last few games. 

“We have a great offensive group, but defensively is more important than anything else is where we’ve really started to pull it together, where guys are following the game plan where everybody is being disciplined, guarding their yard, taking some ownership and their individual matchups. It’s a collective effort.” 

Their defensive rating had been dead last in the NBA through the first eight games (118.3), before Irving’s suspension, but has been second-best in the three games since (98.6). Their net rating has vaulted from third-worst to No. 1 during their recent surge. 

“We’re doing a better job of communicating and we just cover for each other. Everybody has each other’s back. That’s what’s really helping,” Nic Claxton said. “The main thing is trust. Just trust in your teammate no matter who it is. We all have a job to do, and everybody’s out there working for a common goal: Just to win. Just being able to quiet all the outside noise and just lock in.”

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Kyrie Irving must complete six steps before he can rejoin Nets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The road map to Kyrie Irving’s return to the Nets has been revealed.

The team has a list of six steps it wants the troubled star — who is currently suspended indefinitely for promoting an anti-Semitic movie and book — to complete before he returns to the court.

It has been reported that Irving must apologize for his social media posts linking to the movie and book, and must meet with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and local Jewish leaders, as well as with Nets owner Joe Tsai, whose texts he had not been returning. But apparently the list runs deeper.

The Nets, who are 2-0 without Irving, also want him to speak with the media and issue a verbal apology for promoting the film, acknowledging its message is harmful and untrue. He also has to share the apology on his social media accounts. In addition, he has to go to sensitivity training.

All the above was reported by Yahoo. On Saturday night, The Athletic added that Irving must make a $500,000 donation to anti-hate causes, and also undergo training to understand anti-Semitism.

Kyrie Irving
AP

Irving was suspended for at least five games after repeated refusals to apologize, testy exchanges with the media and a lack of dialogue with the organization.

Now Silver, who is Jewish, has demanded to meet with Irving this coming week, and Celtics forward Grant Williams — who is, like Irving an NBPA VP — said the union will discuss the matter as well.

“I think we will but currently, there are a lot of matters as well,” Williams told MassLive. “I think we’ll get together as a group potentially — everything has been through the team. It has been not been a league issue to this point. It hasn’t been an NBA/NBPA issue. The Nets and the league have taken care of that and dealing with Kyrie and the process there. We don’t have much control on that matter.”

Irving’s former Cavalier teammate, LeBron James, chimed in as well.

“I don’t condone any hate to any kind. To any race. To Jewish communities, to Black communities, to Asian communities. You guys know where I stand,” James said Friday night.

Last month, James’ digital media company, Uninterrupted, decided not to air an episode of his YouTube talk show, “The Shop,” featuring Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, because of anti-Semitic comments by the rapper. He has repeatedly supported Irving’s recent stance, one controversial enough that Nike suspended its relationship with the Nets point guard.

“There’s no place in this world for [hate speech]. Nobody can benefit from that, and I believe what Kyrie did caused some harm to a lot of people,” James said Friday after the Lakers’ 130-116 loss to Utah.

“He caused some harm, and I think it’s unfortunate. But I don’t stand on the position to harm people when it comes to your voice or your platform or anything. So it doesn’t matter what color your skin is, how tall you are, what position you’re in. If you are promoting or soliciting or saying harmful things to any community that harms people, then I don’t respect it. I don’t condone it.”

In their first game without the suspended Irving, the Nets rolled to a 128-86 win Friday night at Washington. Afterward, Wizards forward Deni Avdija, who is from Israel and is believed to be the only Jewish player in the NBA, spoke on the situation.

“[Irving] is a role model, he’s a great player. I think he [made] a mistake. But you need to understand that he gives [an] example to people. People look up to him,” Avdija said. “You can think whatever you want, you can do whatever you want. I don’t think it’s right to go out in public and publish it, and let little kids that follow you see it, and the generation to come after to think like that. Because it’s not true. And I don’t think it’s fair. Hopefully, he’s sorry for what he said.

“I think there needs to be consequences for the actions that a player [does]. I don’t know the punishment that the league gives but I think that needs to be known that there’s no room for words like that.”

Irving served the second game of his suspension Saturday when the Nets won 98-94 at Charlotte. But if Irving chooses not to go through with his various meetings — including with Silver and Jewish leaders — it’s unclear when, or if, he’ll play again for the Nets.

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