Is Kyrie to the Nets a smart move for either party?

Everyone knows the story out of Boston this year – the Celtics young core was able to give LeBron a run for every bit of his money in the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals with star Kyrie Irving, so once he returned this season, they would be unstoppable. That dream ended up being much different than the reality, which included on and off-court issues for the Celtics.

Will Kyrie be a success yet again?

Kyrie was solid but his ball-first playing style did not mesh other young talents trying to grow. Upcoming stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown regressed, the team chemistry was non-existent, and Boston was bounced in the second round. Irving seems to already have one foot out the door, something the Celtics and the rest of the NBA world seemed to all but know for sure all season.

As we approach 2019 NBA free agency, his preferred destination has been one that most would have not expected this time last year: the Brooklyn Nets. The upstart Nets, filled with unproven players in D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, and Jarrett Allen were able to succeed and fight their way into the playoffs, even taking a game from the Philadelphia 76ers. Now, there has been some talk about bringing in some star power to surround with the youngsters to become a real threat in the East, namely being Kyrie Irving.

While the fit might seem right, putting solid young players around a bonafide superstar in Kyrie, the previous situation with the Celtics should be an indicator of the potential results in Brooklyn. Young wings like Russell and LeVert (or Tatum and Brown, wink-wink) need to have freedom to do what they do best, which is to be the focal point of a team. This exact method worked for the Nets last season, the same way it did in Boston with Kyrie out. When someone of Kyrie’s type and stature becomes the focus of the offense, players like Russell and LeVert end up on the perimeter in purely catch-and-shoot situations, which is not what they are best at or how they develop into better players.

A risk worth taking?

I am in no way, shape, or form insinuating that bringing in an All-NBA player like Kyrie Irving will hurt an up-and-coming team, especially in the short-run. Kyrie has “been there and done that” in almost every situation you could think of in the NBA. He was the only bright spot on a horrible post-LeBron Cavaliers team in his first few years in the league, all the way to being LeBron’s partner in dethroning the Golden State Warriors and hitting the dagger shot to do so. However, Kyrie has also joined a new team in a situation similar to Brooklyn’s, and the results were not that pretty.

Yes, Nets fans are going to want Kyrie, especially if that’s where he wants to be too. I simply have one piece of advice for them, the Nets organization, and Kyrie himself: do not expect the Kyrie/Brooklyn relationship to be the most fruitful one.

Featured Image Credit: “Kyrie Irving” (CC BY 2.0) by ErikDrostPhoto