Skip Bayless took Nets stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to task over the Gregg Popovich rumors.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have a bright future in Brooklyn, and a golden opportunity to put the Nets franchise on the national map for something other than giving their lunch money away to the Celtics.
Now, all they need is a head coach. Enter Gregg Popovich, one of the game’s great legends? Could help!
Sean Marks’ Spurs connection led to rumors of a supposed Godfather offer for Popovich in the works, though Marks shot that report down over the weekend.
Even so, without live sports action at the moment, nothing was going to stop Skip Bayless from addressing the rumor on his gossip-centric FS1 show on Monday morning. Anything to take a shot at Kyrie and KD during your downtime, right?
.@RealSkipBayless on the rumor about Gregg Popovich coaching the Nets:
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) July 6, 2020
"Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving would last about 2 weeks with Popovich. These are two of the thinnest-skinned superstars that ever came down the pipe." pic.twitter.com/hcMi8SlxVT
The money quote is written out above, though Bayless followed it up immediately with, “They are also two of the most talented players we have ever seen in this league.” Surprising that Undisputed declined to include any Kyrie/KD praise in their advertising of this segment!
It is accurate that, when it comes to the next hire in Brooklyn, you’re going to need to get dual superstar approval, and that goes triply if you’re attempting to push all your assets toward a huge-money play like Popovich.
Even if a Godfather offer were in the works, you’d have to make sure it was an offer that your own core pieces couldn’t refuse after an anguished night of reflection.
“They love each other. They are besties. And you’re going to have to convince both of them — and Gregg Popovich is absolutely their worst-case scenario, and possibly their worst nightmare,” Bayless continued.
This wouldn’t even begin to work. Gregg Popovich would be KD & Kyrie’s worst nightmare. It’s Pop’s way or the highway. More @Undisputed, now on FS1 https://t.co/1xZCunsWrP
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) July 6, 2020
All of this being said — Kevin Durant has never before been a “win, but only on my terms” type of player. He famously sacrificed the better part of his reputation in order to prosper as part of a megalith with the Golden State Warriors. He played for Steve Kerr, a less-grizzled version of Popovich’s brand of eccentric basketball genius (and a sharer of Pop’s political opinions).
I’m not sure why this discourse surrounds Durant and Irving teaming up to make Popovich’s tenure a disaster, instead of the distinct possibility Durant would convince Irving to make sacrifices to help add to his championship legacy, much the way KD did four years ago.
The Popovich rumors still seem pie-in-the-sky, but it seems ruthless to rule them out simply because Brooklyn has a pair of superstars in place who Skip Bayless seems to have determined hate authority. Irving hasn’t found the right fit, but Durant just emerged from potentially the most well-oiled machine in the league. I believe he’d welcome that infrastructure again.