Uncle Drew

[duke4ever19]

Some less than flattering comments on Kyrie in today's New York Times regarding the Cavaliers re-hiring of Mike Brown

[H]e takes over a team with a new diva, Kyrie Irving, who many already suspect is a coaching handful and a half...

Brown takes over a talent-depleted roster with the task of pointing out to Irving that Brown’s specialty as a coach — defense — is something he might want to dabble in.


http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.c...nd/?ref=sports

Wow. I have only ever heard of Irving being a great teammate. I only remember seeing his contagious enthusiasm on the bench (during the toe injury) while watching his teammates play. This is the first time I've heard one peep about him being a "diva" or difficult to coach.

[Henderson]

"Diva" just means talented rich smart Duke NBA guy. It's how a lot of the world sees our guys through their own lenses. It has nothing to do with behavior or reality.

[BytheBeardofZou]

I was hoping "Uncle Drew" would turn out to be turnover Jesus himself, Larry Drew

Needless to say I figured out it wasn't him when his passes didn't land in the fourth row.

[dukelifer]

Some less than flattering comments on Kyrie in today's New York Times regarding the Cavaliers re-hiring of Mike Brown

[H]e takes over a team with a new diva, Kyrie Irving, who many already suspect is a coaching handful and a half...

Brown takes over a talent-depleted roster with the task of pointing out to Irving that Brown’s specialty as a coach — defense — is something he might want to dabble in.


http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.c...nd/?ref=sports

Many refers to whom? NBA insiders? NBA players? UNC fans? A couple of folks in the lobby? And they do not even "know" this. They simply suspect. A nice piece of in depth reporting there. The author might have even googled from her couch.

[arnie]

Many refers to whom? NBA insiders? NBA players? UNC fans? A couple of folks in the lobby? And they do not even "know" this. They simply suspect. A nice piece of in depth reporting there. The author might have even googled from her couch.

Sounds like just another in a long line of poorly researched articles from a fading rag.

[flyingdutchdevil]

The article does accurately point out that Kyrie isn't good at defense. Okay - he's terrible at it right now. It's not one of his skillsets. That may be a product of Scott's terrible defensive schemes, but Kyrie also doesn't show much ability on that end. With Brown, I really hope that Kyrie can become an efficient defender. He will never be a Westbrook-like defender.

[g-money]

Sounds like just another in a long line of poorly researched articles from a fading rag.

Yes, a fading rag that just lost a paid subscriber, thanks to their constant cheap shots at all things Duke.

I'll be taking my $15/month and spending it on iPhone apps instead.

[SupaDave]

The article does accurately point out that Kyrie isn't good at defense. Okay - he's terrible at it right now. It's not one of his skillsets. That may be a product of Scott's terrible defensive schemes, but Kyrie also doesn't show much ability on that end. With Brown, I really hope that Kyrie can become an efficient defender. He will never be a Westbrook-like defender.

Westbrook is a totally different kind of athlete who probably benches a hundred pounds more than Kyrie. His defense is decent enough. Put him around some good players and he wont have to try and pick the pockets of the 5 anymore while still covering his man.

[Starter]

I love Kyrie to death, and in general I have no love lost for the New York Times*, but they're not the first or only outlet saying this sort of thing. Pretty much every story on Scott's firing either implied or flat-out stated that Kyrie was petulant the final few weeks of the season, capped off by a weird situation on Fan Appreciation Night. (This story probably gets into the most specifics.) I think Kyrie is a wonderful player and has been terrific the couple times I've gotten to talk to him, but he is just 21, and some growing pains are bound to happen as he hopefully transitions into the role of NBA superstar. Luckily, his father is a perfect one-man support team, and I would imagine Kyrie learned a few things from his experiences the second half of the season -- similar to how LeBron James had to learn some things a few years back.

The biggest surprise to me is finding that his defense is universally panned. Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt it, I just thought he was a pretty good defender at Duke and hoped it would carry over. I'm not saying he shouldn't have gone pro when he did -- he definitely should have -- but maybe a little more time with Coach K would have benefited him in this and other areas. But Mike Brown, though far from a perfect coach, will probably help out a bit, at least on defense.

*Lynn Zinser, who wrote this piece, is actually the wife of my former boss. Take it from me, or don't, but she's a good and responsible reporter.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I love Kyrie to death, and in general I have no love lost for the New York Times*, but they're not the first or only outlet saying this sort of thing. Pretty much every story on Scott's firing either implied or flat-out stated that Kyrie was petulant the final few weeks of the season, capped off by a weird situation on Fan Appreciation Night. (This story probably gets into the most specifics.) I think Kyrie is a wonderful player and has been terrific the couple times I've gotten to talk to him, but he is just 21, and some growing pains are bound to happen as he hopefully transitions into the role of NBA superstar. Luckily, his father is a perfect one-man support team, and I would imagine Kyrie learned a few things from his experiences the second half of the season -- similar to how LeBron James had to learn some things a few years back.

The biggest surprise to me is finding that his defense is universally panned. Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt it, I just thought he was a pretty good defender at Duke and hoped it would carry over. I'm not saying he shouldn't have gone pro when he did -- he definitely should have -- but maybe a little more time with Coach K would have benefited him in this and other areas. But Mike Brown, though far from a perfect coach, will probably help out a bit, at least on defense.

*Lynn Zinser, who wrote this piece, is actually the wife of my former boss. Take it from me, or don't, but she's a good and responsible reporter.

Great post. Thanks for the update. Kyrie will be okay, despite his recent behavior and subpar defense. Like the article said (as well as you did), he's only 21. Unfortunately, the Cavs either didn't draft great or got really really unlucky (2011 and 2012 weren't deep years). The jury is still out on Thompson, Waiters, and Zeller. I think a new coach was in order, but a roster shuffle may also be in order. Outside of the four rookies and sophomores, they need to keep Livingston and Walton and trade the rest. This should be one of the last years that the Cavs well from the lottery. They need to start being successful in the next few years to be taken seriously (and to retain Kyrie).

[Starter]

Kyrie playing pickup at Montclair State. Finally, a good reason to live in New Jersey, and I didn't even know about this until the day after. SMH.

http://www.slamonline.com/online/med...versity-video/

[antseg]

Kyrie playing pickup at Montclair State. Finally, a good reason to live in New Jersey, and I didn't even know about this until the day after. SMH.

http://www.slamonline.com/online/med...versity-video/

According to some people I know, there is a no dunking rule in that gym.

So maybe this is what the NYT was talking about when they called Kyrie a "diva." Rules do not apply to him!

[MarkD83]

I would enjoy these videos of Kyrie even more except I know that if times were different he would be going into his senior year at Duke.

[Jarhead]

...So maybe this is what the NYT was talking about when they called Kyrie a "diva." Rules do not apply to him!

The NYT must be confused. Diva is a female singer of high reputation.. I don't think Kyrie sings, nor is he female, but he has a substantial reputation as a Duke alum, and a basketball player. Glad to help out.

[Duvall]

I would enjoy these videos of Kyrie even more except I know that if times were different he would be going into his senior year at Duke.

How long was the span of time during which Kyrie Irving could have been a freshman at Duke and would have been a senior at Duke - seven years? Eight? And even then he would have only played three years with the varsity.

[MarkD83]

How long was the span of time during which Kyrie Irving could have been a freshman at Duke and would have been a senior at Duke - seven years? Eight? And even then he would have only played three years with the varsity.

I am not sure I understand your comment (in bold).

2010 NCAA champs
2011 Kyrie is a freshman. Only 10 games so do we even count that as a year or would he have redshirted if players had to stay in college for 4 years.
2012 NBA (Soph)
2013 NBA (Jr)
2014 NBA (Sr) Parantheses are what would have been the year at Duke.

Going further down this path is not really fruitful since every other team would have kept their best players for 4 years and some of them would not have enough scholarships (Ky) but it is the offseason and it is fun to dream.