14-Year NBA Vet: “Everywhere Kyrie Goes.. S--t Gets F----d Up”

It seems to be a pretty well-accepted opinion around most basketball observers these days, but it's still odd to hear a recent NBA player, and one who played against Kyrie Irving, to come right out and put it this bluntly. Hello, Matt Barnes.

Is it a coincidence that every time he goes to a team there’s dysfunction?  … It just seems like everywhere Kyrie goes, there is an issue. Now that could be a coincidence, or it could be that Kyrie is the issue. Again, as great a talent he is, a top-five talent no doubt, but just seems like every time he makes a pit stop, s--t gets f----d up. … It’s not hard to draw that kind of conclusion.

Barnes made the astute observation on the What's Burnin' podcast with Rachel Nichols and guest DeMarcus Cousins. Barnes is a 14-year veteran who only retired five years ago. He's still pretty connected within the game. He also played for nine different teams, so he's been around the block, and knows what's what in locker rooms around the league. 

Obviously, what he's observed happening around Kyrie Irving has left an indelible impression on the feisty former forward. And it doesn't bode well for the Dallas Mavericks. 

Since the Kyrie trade, Dallas has gone 7-14, and dropped from 4th spot in the Western Conference to 11th spot, and currently out of the Play-In. 

And of course we know what happened with Kyrie in Brooklyn... that team is completely blown up from the Kevin Durant-Irving days. And before that, Irving bailed out of Boston, and previous to that, Cleveland. 

"If you're Mark Cuban, and you don't even make the playoffs, or you get bumped in the play-in... are you gonna commit to Kyrie?... To me, that is a huge question," Barnes said to summarize.

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