Brooklyn Nets Reflect On Kyrie Irving And Then Get Ready To Move On

Shortly before 6 pm on Monday, personable Nets coach Jacque Vaughn took a question about the condition of Kyrie Irving’s “right calf”.

It was one of those situations where Vaughn and anyone else paying attention knew Irving was being traded but could not quite discuss it because the deal was not yet announced similar to how GMs cannot comment on draft night trades because of the summer moratorium on transactions until the new salary cap is determined.

Because of the trade being on the way to official status, Vaughn responded to the final question of his pregame press conference by saying Irving’s calf was “still sore.” It was a moment of levity in a situation where serious transgressions caused Irving’s relationship with the Nets to deteriorate.

About 15 minutes after Vaughn’s quip, the trade to the Dallas Mavericks was official and it allowed the Nets to formally move on after 143 regular-season games and 13 more appearances in the postseason.

All kidding aside, Vaughn was more than willing to take the high road with a player who caused so much angst when it came to his availability and then caused more on Friday when he suddenly wanted to be traded because of contract talks breaking down.

“My interactions with Ky have always been positive. I enjoyed coaching him,” Vaughn said. “I want him to succeed. . I’ll keep it that simple.

“We’ve had some ups and downs . I’m always going to look at the good in people and want the good people and want him to succeed. He’s no longer with us but I appreciate his time here

By Monday, talking points about Irving’s association with the Nets ranged from be one of lamenting what could have been in Brooklyn to New York Mayor Eric Adams weighing into the situation with a pointed criticism by saying: “I will find the team that beats us the most and then send him to that team because we would start beating that team. No matter how much talent you have, your ability to interact with your colleagues is more important.”

Those comments to reporters covering city politics are a long way off the typical trips into sports for elected officials, who occasionally show up at games and make friendly wagers with elected officials from opposing localities.

The varying emotions coming from the political and basketball word confirm the theory about Irving, whose career resume might as well read something like “a great player but..” It is a description that describes Irving even as Brooklyn’s younger players such as Cam Thomas laud him for being a mentor, which he Thomas did after a memorable 47-point showing Monday.

In other words, the talent is there but too often the other stuff interfered. The other stuff interfering is why the Nets were quickly willing to grant his trade request and let some other team take the talent with the hope they can avoid the other stuff for the final two months of the regular season and the subsequent postseason games.

The varying emotions of parting with a player like Irving are a long way off from the clean sweep that netted Kevin Durant, Irving and DeAndre Jordan, news that was so momentous it reached the scoreboard at Citi Field before a Sunday night Mets game against the Braves.

Shortly after the trio arrived in Brooklyn, Irving expressed a desire to end his career with the Nets. And it was certainly a good sentiment, but the first sign of trouble was his contribution to forcing the Nets to part way with Kenny Atkinson, who spent Monday night watching Klay Thompson score 42 points as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors.

As for what’s next, it seems Kevin Durant wants to stay once his recovery from a sprained right MCL is over. He missed his 13th game but watched the first official game without Irving from the bench, possibly fueling the speculation of a desire to remain a Net.

“I’m going to coach the group that’s in front of me and that won’t change,” Vaughn said. “I won’t speculate and try to get into Kevin’s mind.”

Instead the Nets will just be glad to move on without Irving, a process that becomes more official once the return package of Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith make their debuts.