Former Brooklyn Player Claims Nets "Didn't Want to Pay" Kyrie Irving

As Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks face a 1-0 deficit to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, the star guard's past continues to make headlines.

In an interview with the New York Post, former Net Markieff Morris explained Irving's split from Brooklyn in further detail. "I think Kyrie was averaging about 27 [points] at the time. I think we won 18 out of 20 and all of a sudden, business got involved," said Morris, who was dealt to Dallas alongside Irving midway through last season. "That's how it goes sometimes. A guy of Kyrie's stature, I wouldn't be standing for that either."

Brooklyn offered Irving a short-term incentive-based extension due to questions surrounding his availability. During his tenure with the Nets, Irving struggled with staying on the court due to a refusal of the COVID-19 vaccine and promotion of an anti-semetic film on X. When the two sides could not come to an agreement, Irving and Morris were shipped to Dallas in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029.

"[Brooklyn] didn't want to pay him," Morris continued. "So what is he playing for? If you're not trying to pay him in a contract year with this good team, and everybody else is paid."

Hindsight is 20/20, but the decision to deal Irving to Dallas has aged horribly. Dinwiddie was traded to the Toronto Raptors then subsequently waived, allowing him to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. Now that the Mavericks are in the midst of their first finals run with Luka Dončić, it's hard to imagine the first-rounder the Nets received garnering any sort of value. Finney-Smith is the only valuable asset Brooklyn got in the exchange, who the franchise has been reluctant to trade.

"[Irving] is in a place where he feels like he ca flourish," Morris said. "Everybody is on the same page. I'm in my 13th year too, and you want to be somewhere people are going to love you and it's more than just a business. End your career somewhere comfortable."

With Jordi Hernandez beginning to change the Nets' culture, fans will hope the organization learns from their past mistakes.

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