Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving posted a plea to his 19 million followers on Instagram, asking fans to stop mentioning him and his impending free agency this summer.
Before ending his IG live Irving said to his fans: ‘Stop mentioning me on Twitter. All y’all fan bases. Stop mentioning me right now please. It is still the…Conference Finals…Can you please leave me the f*** out of this.’
‘Please I just be with my family in peace. Y’all got people at my dinner table discussing what my free agency plans are. Stop that, y’all think it’s funny s*** but please stop that.’
‘Like, I actually like having peace of mind when I’m at the crib. I see all y’all @’s, I see all y’all mentions, ok. I said it, I see all… I get it, I get it. I’m just as excited as y’all are. But you gotta chill.’
Irving went on to say that he feels the love from fans and loves them equally as much back, before going on to ask them to ‘please’ stop mentioning him for the next few months until he makes his decision.
*WARNING FOUL LANGUAGE*
Kyrie Irving says don¿t believe certain free agent rumors
¿When they speak on my name talking about potential teams, can y¿all please stop paying attention to that.¿
(h/t @LeagueAlerts )
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) May 24, 2023
Kyrie Irving made a plea to fans to please stop mentioning his free agency and tagging him
Rumors about Irving’s free agency have run rampant after he sat courtside at the Lakers game
Kyrie Irving says don¿t believe certain free agent rumors
¿When they speak on my name talking about potential teams, can y¿all please stop paying attention to that.¿
(h/t @LeagueAlerts )
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) May 24, 2023
Discussion over Irving’s free agency has run rampant over the last few days after Irving was seen sitting courtside in Los Angeles watching the Lakers get swept by the Denver Nuggets.
Irving also mentioned that he is in ‘no rush’ to make a decision while discussing his free agency.
‘I’m a free agent this summer, but I am in no rush to make a decision,’ Irving said.
‘The speculation around my name from all these individuals that get on TV and have these personalities… When they speak on my name and they’re talking about potential teams that I’m going to, respectfully, I’m asking you to please stop paying attention to that. I am in no rush to make a decision.’
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It should also be noted that Irving had initially stated he would stay with the Celtics and Nets long term, before forcing his way out of Boston and Brooklyn, respectively.
Irving was acquired by the Mavericks at the trade deadline and the team can re-sign him a max deal of $272 million over five years, while the biggest deal Irving can sign with another team would be a four-year contract worth nearly $202 million.
According to Bleacher Report, the Mavericks were under the impression that Irving would remain in Dallas for longer than half the season after the trade.
‘I hear they had a handshake deal before the trade [with the Nets],’ one source told Eric Pincus. ‘And Kyrie wouldn’t have said yes to anything less than the max.’
If Irving were to depart Dallas for a reunion with LeBron James it would require both sides to work out a sign-and-trade in order for LA to fit Irving under the salary cap.
During his livestream Irving also took a moment to take shots at the media for ‘mixing sports with politics’ and spreading rumors about him.
‘The speculation around my name from all these individuals that get on TV and have these personalities, all these people that have these platforms,’ Irving said.
‘And I’m talking about the TV personalities, the sports folk that try to mix sports with politics and lifestyle and s*** like that.’
‘When they speak on my name and they’re talking about potential teams I’m going to, can you all please stop paying attention to that?’
He also called out the media, indirectly ESPN’s Stephan A Smith for ‘mixing sports and politics’
Though he did not mention the names of any specific media members, it is easy to piece together that his comments were largely directed at ESPN’s Stephen A Smith.
Smith recently admitted to having personal issues with Irving, although many fans who watch ESPN and First Take on a regular basis have long noticed Smith’s clear and obvious dislike of Irving.
Over the last few years, the well-known analyst has routinely slammed Irving for his refusal to get vaccinated, forcing his way out of both Boston and Brooklyn, and for the many conspiracy theories that have been repeated by the former Duke star. Smith even admitted to having a personal, albeit unspecified problem with Irving.
Fans and other analyst such as ESPN’s Jay Williams have attacked Smith for his criticism of Irving, but the long-time analyst hasn’t offered any apologies.
