Well Respected And Very Credible Stephen A Smith Is Reporting He's Not Hearing Good Things About Kyrie In Brooklyn

For those keeping score at home, first there was that report by Jackie Mac not even a month ago where the rumblings involving Kyrie first started 

Now we have Stephen A, perhaps one of the most credible and well connected media figures on the planet saying he's hearing a lot of the same things. As someone who has lived through this drama, I can understand the immediate reaction from Nets fans out here are to discredit this and call it bullshit. Just media trying to drum up drama and pile on a team that's been underachieving to start the season. Sound familiar? I know it does because I was someone who said the exact same thing last year when there were Kyrie rumors and the Celtics stunk during their 10-10 start. Your first instinct is to instantly dismiss any negative report that doesn't fit the narrative you want to be true. You find clips of him looking happy with his teammates and shit like that and you hold onto that for dear life no matter what comes out around you. Again, trust me. I've lived it and done it. Even if there is smoke everywhere, it's all fake news and there's actually no fire. That's what life is like when Kyrie Irving is your point guard. You don't want these reports and rumors to be true so you spinzone your own brain every way possible.

But deep down, you know there's some truth to what everyone is saying. The track record speaks for itself whether you want to accept it or not. As Celtics fans, we didn't want to believe what we saw in CLE because we convinced ourselves that was a LeBron problem and things would be different in Boston. Nets fans don't want to believe what they saw in CLE and BOS because the Nets were a team that Kyrie actually chose, and they are fully committed to letting him be "they guy" while Durant rehabs. I will say this is vintage Stephen A where he's basically reporting it while not technically reporting it, just telling you what he's hearing. He does that shit all the time and it's a great move. Is it surprising that people could be talking about his attitude? Sure isn't.

It's a tricky balancing act because Kyrie's offensive talent is so mesmorizing when you watch him play that you can overlook the problems that his style can have on your overall team. It's hard to argue this Nets team isn't the same as last year, and even if you want to argue LeVert's injury matters, they had that last year and still didn't have a lot of the same issues we've seen when Kyrie is in the lineup. Is he the root of all their problems? No, of course not, just like he wasn't in Boston. But he's a factor, both on and off the floor. 

So refute Stephen A if you want. Just be careful