Stephen A. Smith Tells Mavs' Kyrie Irving to 'Quit Basketball'
DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving is set to enter free agency this offseason, which has commanded a lot of speculation about his potential decision. Despite being on seemingly constant speculation linking him to the Los Angeles Lakers, the All-Star guard will take his time before determining his future.
In the meantime, Irving encouraged his fans not to listen to what media speculation says regarding his upcoming decision — stating that those discussions are not taking place from a credible perspective.
"I'm a free agent this summer, but I am in no rush to make a decision," Irving said on his Instagram Live from Wednesday. "When [these media personalities] speak on my name and they're talking about potential teams that I'm going to, can y'all please — I respectfully, I'm asking you — stop paying attention to that."
Irving, especially Stephen A. Smith, remains a focus of media speculation and conversation despite that message. Whlie discussing various NBA topics on ESPN's "Get Up" on Friday morning, Smith had a message for Irving.
“Respectfully, to Kyrie Irving, who doesn’t want us talking about him, don’t play basketball,” Smith said. “We talk about basketball.”
Smith explained that it's the media's job to talk about Irving's future, just as much as it's their place to discuss his play on the basketball court.
“Nobody’s talking about his personal life. Nobody’s talking about the tweets from months ago. Nobody’s talking about all the things he’s gotten himself involved with,” Smith explained. “If you don’t want us to talk about you as a basketball player, quit, because we’re going to talk about you.”
Last summer, Irving responded to one of Smith's rants about him as he questioned Irving's desire to play basketball, and there's a further history of friction between the two that goes back multiple years. Surely, Smith's basketball conversation will only continue to focus on Irving given he's set to be one of the top free agents available.
The Mavs remain optimistic about their chances to re-sign Irving this offseason. The largest deal they are allowed to offer the superstar guard is a five-year, $272.9 million contract, while rival teams are limited to making a four-year, $201.7 million offer.
Irving is coming off another impressive season having averaged 27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in 60 appearances. His season began with the Brooklyn Nets before being traded midseason to the Mavs in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, a 2029 first-round pick, and multiple second-round picks.
Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).
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