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By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh
New York City Mayor Eric Adams took a shot at Kyrie Irving on Monday after news that the basketball star will be traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Dallas Mavericks.
On Sunday, the 30-year-old 6’2 point guard and shooting guard was traded to Mark Cuban’s Mavericks, along with forward Markieff Morris. As reported by the NY Post, in exchange, the Nets got guard Spencer Dinwiddie, forward Dorian Finney-Smith, and three draft picks, including an unprotected 2029 first-round pick. Just two days earlier, Irving had requested a trade, threatening his team that he would sit out the whole season if he isn’t traded.
In an interview on NY1 on Monday morning, Mayor Adams bashed the oft-troubled player. Host Pat Kiernan had asked the mayor, “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. The mayor laughed, replying, “I will find the team that beats us the most and send him to that team, because then we’ll start beating that team.” Adams added, “It’s about synergy in energy. No matter how much talent you have, your ability to interact with your colleagues is more important.” “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,” said Adams.
Irving had been awarded Rookie of the Year after being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2011. By 2017, he had switched over to the Boston Celtics, and in 2019 he joined the Brooklyn Nets. With the Nets, Irving had an unimpressive attendance record, playing just 143 games out of a possible 278 games. Much of that was due to his refusal to comply with New York’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. “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,” Irving wrote on social media in September. He continued: “This enforced Vaccine/Pandemic is one the biggest violations of HUMAN RIGHTS in history.” To add to those absences, this season, Irving was suspended without pay for eight games for promoting an anti-Semitic movie. He also had several controversial contract negotiations before this last one.
The blockbuster trade, so close to the NBA finals and just six days before the 2023 NBA trade deadline, unleashed a frenzy of speculation as to the new adjusted odds for title. Per the Post, the Mavericks moved up into the top echelon of title favorites – moving from a 25/1 victory odd on Sunday per BetMGM to a 12/1 chance on Monday morning, behind just seven other teams in the NBA title race. At least two other teams saw their odds for gaining a title plummet—including the Nets.
Irving will make close to an extra $2 million thanks to the trade deal.
