Kyrie Irving’s ‘mood swings’ are reportedly an ‘unspoken concern’ in Brooklyn

As Kyrie Irving gets accustomed to playing in Brooklyn, his teammates are getting used to him, too.

In a piece written by ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, MacMullan detailed how the Brooklyn Nets are finding chemistry amongst their newest additions: Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan and former Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving. The trio have become close friends and even made the decision during NBA free agency to specifically play together in Brooklyn.

With that, Irving’s attitude is something that the Nets organization has had to get used to since his arrival. According to MacMullan, his “mood swings” have made Nets officials reportedly “queasy.” In Santa Monica, Irving refused to participate with the Nets’ performance team while they were getting information on biometric data (“I’m not doing it.”).  Then, when the team was in China, he had an “episode” that left the team confused as to what had caused it:

“When Irving lapses into these funks, he often shuts down, unwilling to communicate with the coaching staff, front office and, sometimes, even his teammates,” MacMullan wrote. “Nets team sources say one such episode occurred during Brooklyn’s trip to China, leaving everyone scratching their heads as to what precipitated it.”

While it’s unclear what exactly happened in China, iHeartradio digital strategist Christopher Lavinio tweeted that while the team was taking a photo at the Pearl TV Tower, Irving refused to take off his hat and told the team to photoshop it off of him.

Here is the team photo at Pearl TV Tower in China where Kyrie Irving refused to remove his hat and instructed the Nets to photoshop it out. Clearly the Nets didn’t. pic.twitter.com/2HVKMxlwHK

— Christopher Lavinio (@ChrisLavinio) October 29, 2019

In efforts to get through to him, MacMullan added that the Nets reportedly asked Durant to “coax” Irving into having a “better frame of mind”. Durant, however, said he respected his space and how he is:

“I look at Kyrie as somebody who is an artist,” Durant said. “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…Now, it might not be how other people want him to care about it. He has his way of doing things. 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 percent.”

Meanwhile, Irving’s former Cavaliers teammate, J.R. Smith reacted to a post by Bleacher Report about MacMullan’s report.

“Damn Young Gawd already,” Smith commented on Instagram,

From Boston to Brooklyn, Irving’s attitude is a topic of conversation yet again.

[Read Jackie MacMullan’s piece, “For the culture: KD, Kyrie and what comes next for the Nets” here]