Kyrie Irving has been heavily criticised for asking to be traded out of Brooklyn. Irving’s request added to the perception that he has a propensity to damage every organisation he plays for, considering how things ended in Cleveland and Boston as well.
But Kyrie himself doesn’t see a problem with requesting trades.
“When did it become terrible to make great business decisions for yourself and your happiness and your peace of mind?” he said.
“Not every employer you’re gonna get along with so if you have a chance to go somewhere else and you’re doing it legally then I don’t think there’s a problem with it.”
Irving is right that asking for a trade is not a violation of any league rules.
Then again, no one made him commit to a four-year contract with the Nets, and his comments may be overlooking the bad optics of opting out of that commitment.
Either way, Adam Silver certainly disagrees with Irving. In fact, he couldn’t disagree more strongly.
“Player trade demands are a bad thing,” Silver said on Thursday. “We don’t want them to happen, and we’ve got to focus on that and make sure that everyone is honoring their agreements.”