The Brooklyn Nets are reportedly worried about Kyrie Irving's "mood swings," according to a new report from ESPN.
Irving's leadership skills and locker room presence have been called into question since his days with Cleveland, and the Nets seem leery of the issues that have plagued him in the past.
Those close to the Nets front office tell ESPN's Jackie MacMullan that it's an "unspoken concern that makes Nets officials queasy." However, Brooklyn understands the franchise's potential, especially with Kevin Durant waiting in the wings. Per MacMullan, the Nets are giving Irving some added leeway so as not to disrupt their potential dynasty.
"There has already been leeway to allow Irving to march to his own drum," MacMullan writes. One incident specifically, in which Irving refused to take off his hat during a team photo shoot in China and asked for it to be photoshopped out, is evidence that the Nets are willing to put up with his mood swings. MacMullan explains that the Nets "will focus more on the bigger issue of sharing the ball and maintaining good team chemistry."
In another example of Irving's prickly temperment, he reportedly refused to partake in a team initiative centered around the collection of biometric data, which apparently made things awkward for his teammates.
One person who's also willing to accept Irving's eccentricities is Durant. "I look at Kyrie as somebody who is an artist," Durant told MacMullan. "You have to leave him alone. You know what he'll bring to the table every night because he cares so much about the game."
Durant added that he's ready to let Kyrie be Kyrie. "Now, it might not be how other people want him to care about it. He has his way of doing things," he explaines. "I respect who he is and what he does. He has all the intangibles you want in a teammate and a great player. So, how he gets to the point to be ready for 7:30 every night, I'm supporting him 100%."
