Kyrie Irving Blames New York City Mayor Eric Adams For Nets Trade

Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving was asked by a fan sitting courtside why he didn’t “play like this” with the Brooklyn Nets during Tuesday night’s 119-107 win at Barclays Center, and the eight-time All-Star couldn’t help but take a jab at New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

“Why you didn’t play like this when you were on the Nets?” asked the fan. Irving came back with “Thank Mayor Adams for that, bro.” The former Net missed Brooklyn’s first 35 games of the 2021-22 season because he refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine. New York City’s vaccine mandate prevented him from playing in home games.

Irving also missed 35 straight home games that season until Mayor Adams lifted the vaccine mandate on pro athletes on March 24, 2022. This decision was met by pushback from municipal unions and the City Council speaker. More than 1,500 city workers were fired for not getting the shot.

I asked @KyrieIrving why he didn’t play like this when he was in the @BrooklynNets ? He told me to thank @NYCMayor for that #netsworld pic.twitter.com/RtG33m7fUR

— Courtside Nets (@Courtsidenets) February 7, 2024

“I’m the mayor of the city and I’m going to make some tough choices,” Adams said. “Tough choice, difficult choice. There are those who say yea and those who say nay, but that’s what I was elected to do.”

Irving missed 140 games with the Nets and played in only 143 games across four seasons. Everything seemed to spiral out of control for Irving during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Nets suspended him in November 2022 after he promoted an antisemitic film on social media. Brooklyn traded him to Dallas in February 2023. So, he might not see eye to eye with Adams.

Though, Irving has no hard feelings toward the Nets or Brooklyn fans.

Kyrie Irving missed 140 games with the Brooklyn Nets, played in only 143 games across four seasons

“I mean, I don’t want to get too deep into it because I love protecting the people that I’m in business with, even if it doesn’t work out,” Irving said after scoring 36 points against Brooklyn on Tuesday night.

“Again, I wish all those guys well. But conversations that needed to be had weren’t had before the trade deadline, and I don’t know if anything needed to be salvaged.

“I just think it was time to get my own peace of mind and go somewhere where I was able to thrive and be in a situation where I didn’t have to worry about kind of behind-the-back talk or the media talk or not knowing how to handle real-life circumstances that has nothing to do with the game of basketball.

Kyrie Irving says he’s “at peace” with what happened with the Nets

“I wish a lot of the guys well, a lot of the people that I’ve gotten a chance to get to know. We have relationships that extend off the basketball court and that’s all I can ask for” pic.twitter.com/E4SlIaibB3

— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) February 7, 2024

“It has everything to do with how you handle someone as a person. While I was here, I learned a lot of lessons. I’ve made my peace again, like I said, and I just want to move forward.”

Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Irving played a grand total of just 16 games together — regular season and postseason games combined.

The Nets won only a single playoff series in Irving and Durant’s three-and-a-half years with the franchise. Brooklyn lost Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals against the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks.

Irving has moved on from Brooklyn with the Dallas Mavericks

“Things could have changed, and you look back at the past and you have 20-20 vision — this could’ve gone right or if this would’ve happened,” Kyrie Irving added.

“If I didn’t get injured versus the Bucks, do I still ask for a trade? If KD’s foot wasn’t on the 3-point line, are we talking about a different legacy here?

“We can just put that to rest and just move forward. I can look forward to the rest of my career and just handle it in Dallas and going after my second championship.”

Furthermore, the Nets welcomed back Durant last week with a tribute video. However, there was no special greeting for Irving’s return.

When Irving was introduced Tuesday, the videoboard showed just a “Welcome Back” message for him and ex-Nets Seth Curry and Markieff Morris.

Things have changed a lot for Brooklyn. The Nets (20-30) have lost 15 of their past 20 games this season. They rank 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, trailing the Chicago Bulls (24-27) and Atlanta Hawks (22-28).