NBA Atlantic

In what will come as little surprise, the trade market for Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving hasn't improved following the start of the 2022-23 NBA season and Irving's recent posts on social media promoting an antisemitic film.

Newsday's Steve Popper spoke with a "few" team executives from around the league who said they "would not touch" Irving.

Irving's future in Brooklyn was a frequent topic of discussion over the summer. The fact he remained with the Nets reflected how both sides were stuck in a marriage of convenience.

Trading the seven-time All-Star wasn't going to yield an equal return in terms of players coming back, so the team was stuck on that front. Irving, meanwhile, almost assuredly wasn't going to get anything better financially than his $36.5 million player option, so opting out wasn't realistic.

Both sides stood to gain from a continued partnership. A big year from Irving would improve his chances of landing a lucrative multiyear contract next offseason, and it would potentially make the Nets favorites to win the Eastern Conference.

That things have unraveled is nonetheless unsurprising, though, the expediency and manner of the meltdown are stunning.

Irving reposted a video of Infowars' Alex Jones discussing the "New World Order" conspiracy theory to his Instagram account in September. Then this month, he shared a link to a film that utilizes antisemitic themes and tropes.

The veteran point guard addressed the situation following a 125-116 loss to the Indiana Pacers last Saturday. During his press conference, he got into a tense exchange with a reporter and said he was "not going to stand down on anything that I believe in."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56bwE_Lfw_I

The NBA and National Basketball Players Association have both issued statements condemning antisemitism, and while neither specifically cited Irving, it was impossible not to connect the dots.

Likewise, Nets governor Joe Tsai shared his disappointment over Irving's posts about the film. Irving's responded that he "meant no disrespect to anyone's religious beliefs."

It's difficult to picture another team being willing to trade for Irving and deal with the fallout that would ensue.

After an offseason of uncertainty about Steve Nash's job status, the Brooklyn Nets parted ways with their head coach and appear to be targeting Ime Udoka as his replacement.

He leaves the organization after just seven games in 2022-23, per an announcement from the team.

Nash posted a statement on Twitter about the decision:

pic.twitter.com/GUGhBtHKUL

— Steve Nash (@SteveNash) November 1, 2022

This move wasn't completely unexpected after Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported in August that Kevin Durant told Nets governor Joe Tsai to either fire Nash and general manager Sean Marks or trade him.

As for what's next, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Udoka is likely going to be named permanent head coach, with a formal announcement potentially coming within the next 24 to 48 hours. Jacque Vaughn will serve as interim head coach for Tuesday's game against the Chicago Bulls.

The Boston Celtics, who have Udoka under contract, will let him leave for another job, according to Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski previously reported the Nets would inquire about Udoka and Quin Snyder, among others, about becoming their full-time head coach.

Udoka's situation is the most complicated among the potential targets for Brooklyn. The 45-year-old had a fantastic first season as head coach of the Boston Celtics in 2021-22. He led them to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and an appearance in the NBA Finals.

On Sept. 22, the Celtics announced Udoka was suspended for the entire 2022-23 campaign for violations of team policies. The team said a decision about his future beyond this season would be made at a later date.

Per Wojnarowski, an independent law firm hired by the Celtics to investigate the situation found Udoka "used crude language in his dialogue with a female subordinate prior to the start of an improper workplace relationship with the woman."

Per Charania, the woman accused Udoka of making "unwanted comments toward her," which prompted the Celtics to launch a set of internal interviews.

The Athletic's Jay King noted Udoka's history with the Nets and ability to coach top stars could make him a fit for them if they are "willing to overlook the serious mess that led to his suspension in Boston."

Ime Udoka worked for the Nets as an assistant the year before the Celtics hired him. His coaching style seems to work with stars. He would make a lot of sense as a Steve Nash replacement if Brooklyn is willing to overlook the serious mess that led to his suspension in Boston.

— Jay King (@ByJayKing) November 1, 2022

Snyder resigned as head coach of the Utah Jazz in June after eight seasons. He walked away with 372 wins, six consecutive playoff appearances and 51 postseason victories. All three of those marks rank second in franchise history, behind Jerry Sloan.

If the Nets are looking to hire a coach who can bring some stability to a franchise in desperate need of it without all the negative headlines that would come with Udoka, Snyder would be a good choice. He took over a Jazz team in 2014 still mired in a rebuild, helped develop Rudy Gobert into an All-Star center and guided Donovan Mitchell after the team drafted him with the No. 13 pick in 2017.

Udoka is certainly an impressive head coach based on how he was able to adjust midway through his first season with the Celtics. They were 23-24 after a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 21 before winning 28 of their final 35 games in the regular season.

There is going to be a level of scrutiny and attention on Udoka if he is the choice because of his suspension and the many details about it that remain unknown.

Even though it doesn't sound like he will be given the chance to prove he can handle the job, Vaughn has the credentials to at least be worth consideration. The 47-year-old has three years of experience as a head coach with the Orlando Magic from 2012-13 to 2014-15. He went 58-158 before being fired in February 2015.

Vaughn has been on Brooklyn's coaching staff since the 2016-17 season when he was hired as Kenny Atkinson's lead assistant. He served as interim head coach for 10 games during the 2019-20 season after Atkinson was fired in March 2020.

The Nets formally interviewed Vaughn for the job in September 2020 before Nash was hired. He knows this roster well and has established relationships with all of the players that could serve him well.

Whoever is hired by the Nets will have to address the recent actions of star point guard Kyrie Irving.

Irving, a seven-time All-Star, has faced no consequences from the team or NBA after tweeting out a link to a documentary called Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.

Per Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone, the movie is "stuffed with antisemitic tropes." Irving has since deleted the tweet, but he got defensive about the situation during a postgame press conference after Saturday's loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Tsai and the NBA released separate statements on Twitter condemning hate speech, but Irving was in the Nets' starting lineup and played 43 minutes in Monday's victory over the Pacers.

Nash went 94-67 in two-plus seasons as Brooklyn's head coach. He made the playoffs in each of the previous two seasons but only managed one postseason series victory during that span.

Suspended Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka has emerged as the "strong front-runner" to fill the Brooklyn Nets head coaching vacancy, according to Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Udoka is "likely" to be the hire and it could be finalized in the next 24-48 hours. Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated added the sides are in "advanced discussions" about a contract for him to take over.

Chris Haynes of NBA on TNT reported the Celtics won't seek compensation from the Nets if they hire Udoka:

The Boston Celtics will not seek compensation from the Brooklyn Nets and will allow Ime Udoka to move on, league sources tell @NBAonTNT.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 1, 2022

General manager Sean Marks later told reporters at a press conference the team has not made any decisions regarding its next head coach.

Wojnarowski originally reported Udoka and former Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder were among the early candidates for the job.

Earlier Tuesday, the Nets announced they mutually parted ways with Steve Nash, who had led the team's coaching staff since September 2020.

Brooklyn named Jacque Vaughn as its acting head coach beginning with Tuesday night's home game against the Chicago Bulls while the coaching search takes place.

In September, Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck announced Udoka was given a one-year suspension for multiple violations of team policies.

An independent investigation determined those violations included Udoka using "crude language in his dialogue with a female subordinate prior to the start of an improper workplace relationship with the woman," per Woj.

The 45-year-old Oregon native remains under contract with the Celtics, so the team would have to give its permission for him to interview with another organization, but Boston is willing to let him leave to accept another job, according to Woj.

Udoka guided the C's to a 51-31 record and an appearance in the 2022 NBA Finals during his first season as a head coach. He finished fourth in Coach of the Year voting.

He previously spent one season as an assistant with the Nets in 2020-21 under Nash following prior stints on the San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers staffs.

Snyder stepped down in June after eight years with the Jazz. It was his first NBA head coaching job after prior opportunities in that role at the college level with Missouri and in the G League with the Austin Toros, the San Antonio Spurs' affiliate.

"It was just time," Snyder told reporters. "I tried to give a voice to that, but it really isn’t any more complicated than that. It was just time. This was something I labored over. I had thought about it for a period of weeks."

He guided Utah to a 372-264 regular-season record with six straight postseason appearances during his tenure.

His 30-year coaching career also includes time as an assistant in the NBA, college and Russia's VTB United League.

The Nets, led by the high-profile trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons, are off to a rocky 2-5 start in large part due to their 28th-ranked defense (120.3 points allowed per game).

Udoka and Snyder are both defensive-minded coaches who could help Brooklyn's star-studded roster begin turning things around at that end of the floor.

It isn't often the firing of a head coach brings a sense of collective relief, but that was the case Tuesday after the Brooklyn Nets announced they parted ways with head coach Steve Nash.

Nash had an eventful run during the two-plus seasons he was in charge.

One star player angled for and received a trade. Another star player reportedly wanted him fired this offseason. And yet another star player was absent for most of last year because he declined to get the COVID-19 vaccine before managing to cause a stir by posting a link to an antisemitic film on his Twitter account.

For Nash, being unemployed might be preferable to keeping his old job.

More like set him free. AK https://t.co/bAVItZs9we

— Kamenetzky Brothers (@KamBrothers) November 1, 2022

thrilled for steve nash. he can go and root for tottenham or whatever. the only fun day at work was when KD scored 49 points in game 5 vs milwaukee and they hugged after. https://t.co/5pcNZ40mfu

— alex (@steven_lebron) November 1, 2022

How much better is Steve Nash's life about to be? https://t.co/m1JVMuVXmt

— Judy Battista (@judybattista) November 1, 2022

No one happier about this than Steve Nash, who now gets to watch the World Cup in peace. https://t.co/vs77r8yZBX

— Raymond Summerlin (@RMSummerlin) November 1, 2022

So how long do i wait to unload all the best Kyrie/KD stories about how poorly they treated Steve Nash?

Huge win for Nash to get out of that mess

— Jason McIntyre (@jasonrmcintyre) November 1, 2022

https://twitter.com/erikmal/status/1587489338136285184

Steve Nash leaving the Brooklyn Nets facility pic.twitter.com/5hFZB7EkOi

— RingerNBA (@ringernba) November 1, 2022

Hard to imagine Steve Nash is upset about this. What a dumpster fire that entire situation.

I hope Nash gets a chance to actually be a head coach under normal circumstances at some point.

— Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) November 1, 2022

Now it's Jacque Vaughn's mess to deal with, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski reported that Vaughn will take over for now and that Brooklyn could reach out to Ime Udoka or Quin Snyder about the job.

Udoka and Snyder might want to reach out to Nash to understand just what kind of situation they'd be inheriting.

The Brooklyn Nets and head coach Steve Nash have parted ways after a 2-5 start to the season.

"Since becoming head coach, Steve was faced with a number of unprecedented challenges, and we are sincerely grateful for his leadership, patience and humility throughout his tenure," Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks said in a statement, per ESPN's Malika Andrews.

Nash thanked the Nets for the "amazing experience" in a statement:

pic.twitter.com/GUGhBtHKUL

— Steve Nash (@SteveNash) November 1, 2022

Jacque Vaughn will be the acting head coach for Tuesday's game against the Chicago Bulls.

The Hall of Fame point guard finishes with a 94-67 record at the first stop in his coaching career. He helped guide the Nets to the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals, and they may have reached the NBA Finals that year if Kevin Durant's shoes were one size smaller.

The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Aug. 8 that the 34-year-old "reiterated his trade request and informed [Nets governor Joe] Tsai that he needs to choose between Durant or the pairing of general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash."

Although the Nets stuck by the head coach to open the season, the team has gotten off to a disappointing 2-5 start. Something needed to change, and firing the head coach is often the easiest lever to pull whenever a team is failing to meet expectations.

In the case of Brooklyn, though, fans are left to wonder whether the battle has already been lost.

Since signing Durant and Kyrie Irving in 2019, the Nets have never been too far away from their next crisis.

Kenny Atkinson, who led the team to the 2019 playoffs and helped establish the culture that made the organization attractive for Durant and Irving in the first place, was fired midway through the 2019-20 season.

Then Marks sacrificed what was left of a young, exciting core to acquire James Harden, the effects of which are still being felt.

Then came Irving's decision not to get the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of the 2021-22 season. Harden reportedly grew frustrated with Irving out of the lineup and eventually sulked his way out of Brooklyn.

A first-round sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics in the 2022 playoffs was a sobering outcome that showed how far the Nets were from a championship level. As they were trying to recover from that disappointment, they had to face constant speculation surrounding Durant and Irving.

While everybody attempted to put up a united front before the 2022-23 season tipped off, it only took two weeks before they were dealing with another problem created by Irving.

The 30-year-old, who in September reposted a video from Infowars' Alex Jones about a conspiracy theory tied to the New World Order, shared on Twitter a link to the movie Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America. The film and the book upon which it's based utilize antisemitic themes and tropes.

Nets majority governor Joe Tsai addressed the situation on Oct. 28 and said he was "disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of antisemitic disinformation."

I’m disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of anti-semitic disinformation. I want to sit down and make sure he understands this is hurtful to all of us, and as a man of faith, it is wrong to promote hate based on race, ethnicity or religion.

— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) October 29, 2022

Irving responded to say he "meant no disrespect to anyone’s religious beliefs" and that "the 'Anti-Semitic' label that is being pushed on me is not justified and does not reflect the reality or truth I live in everyday."

I am an OMNIST and I meant no disrespect to anyone’s religious beliefs. The “Anti-Semitic” label that is being pushed on me is not justified and does not reflect the reality or truth I live in everyday. I embrace and want to learn from all walks of life and religions.

Hélà🤞🏾♾

— Kyrie🤞🏾 (@KyrieIrving) October 29, 2022

Following a 125-116 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 29, Irving had a tense exchange with ESPN's Nick Friedell, who asked him about the Alex Jones video and Hebrews to Negroes.

https://twitter.com/_Talkin_NBA/status/1586551407989112833

While distancing himself from the falsehoods Jones has espoused about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, he told reporters he believes the conspiracy theorist was speaking the truth about the "secret societies in America of occults."

He added he's "not going to stand down on anything that I believe in."

In the immediate aftermath, some thought Irving—and by extension the Nets—reached a point of no return.

Well, that was quite the press conference. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kyrie is done with the Nets or maybe even the league.

— Alec Sturm (@Alec_Sturm) October 30, 2022

nets might as well start burning it down today. waive — yes — kyrie, trade durant and go from there. there is zero cause for optimism, and it’s not like this experiment is making them money. it’s a wrap.

— bomani (@bomani_jones) October 30, 2022

Purely in terms of its on-court outlook, there's little reason to believe things will get better from here for Brooklyn.

The Nets are 29th in defensive rating (119.1), per NBA.com, and a new head coach can only do so much to compensate for the fact that the roster simply doesn't have many good defenders.

Their issues on that end of the floor also stem partially from the fact that Ben Simmons looks like a shell of the player who was a three-time All-Star with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 6'10" guard is averaging 6.2 points, 7.3 assists and 6.5 rebounds this season. He's not performing like a first-team All-Defensive player, and his even more limited range on offense is dragging down what value he is providing on defense.

In effect, all of the worst fears about the Nets have been confirmed so far. They're a top-heavy roster without the necessary depth to be an elite team, and the troubling actions of players like Irving outside of games will inevitably create further tension on the court.

Perhaps a coach with more experience on the sideline than Nash can produce different results, but the odds of that happening are slim if recent history is any indicator.

The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Indiana Pacers 116-109 in Monday's game, but basketball was far from the only thing to make headlines.

A handful of people who were sitting courtside wore shirts that said "Fight Antisemitism" in response to Nets point guard Kyrie Irving promoting an antisemitic film on his Twitter account.

People were courtside at the Nets game wearing "Fight Antisemitism" shirts, this in the wake of Kyrie Irving's recent promotion of an antisemitic film on social media pic.twitter.com/GRCtDDHXCu

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 1, 2022

"They should not keep a guy like that around," Aaron Jungreis, a season ticket holder who was one of the fans wearing the shirts, said, per Ian O'Connor of the New York Post. "A lot of people are going to cancel [their tickets]. They have to discipline him some way."

Jungreis described his view of the interaction to O'Connor: "We told him we love him anyway, even though we know he hates us." Jungreis then said Kyrie told the fans he appreciates them, but Jungreis felt he said it sarcastically.

Ian Begley of SNY shared comments from Mike Dube, who felt Irving was sincere when he said he appreciated the fans:

Worth noting: Mike Dube didn’t take Kyrie Irving’s remark during the game sarcastically, as a fan who spoke to @Ian_OConnor did. Dube, co-founder of charity Sharing Seats, had tickets thru a friend & Nets season-ticket holder. Dube said his friend requested group wear t-shirts.

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) November 1, 2022

On Thursday Irving tweeted a link to the movie Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, which is based on a book with the same title and has been criticized as containing antisemitic tropes and misinformation.

On Saturday, Irving told reporters he felt he hadn't done anything wrong in posting the tweet.

In the same press conference, he also addressed previously sharing a video from far-right talk show host Alex Jones. Irving said he disagrees with Jones' lies about the Sandy Hook school shooting being staged but thinks Jones' video "about secret societies in America of occults" is "true."

The NBA did not mention Irving by name but did release a statement saying it denounced "hate speech of any kind."

The NBA issued the following statement: pic.twitter.com/vuTVhEegeh

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) October 29, 2022

Nets governor Joe Tsai also tweeted the following: "I'm disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of antisemitic disinformation. I want to sit down and make sure he understands this is hurtful to all of us, and as a man of faith, it is wrong to promote hate based on race, ethnicity or religion."

Irving later denied that he is antisemitic:

I am an OMNIST and I meant no disrespect to anyone’s religious beliefs. The “Anti-Semitic” label that is being pushed on me is not justified and does not reflect the reality or truth I live in everyday. I embrace and want to learn from all walks of life and religions.

Hélà🤞🏾♾

— Kyrie🤞🏾 (@KyrieIrving) October 29, 2022

On the court, the Nets improved to 2-5 on the season with Monday's win.

They did not make Irving available to media after the game.

Dwight Howard has made 22 three-pointers in 18 seasons during his career, which apparently is nowhere near enough for the Brooklyn Nets to consider signing him.

During a discussion with Shannon Sharpe on the Club Shay Shay podcast, Howard revealed he spoke with the Nets as a free agent but they told him "they need a big man that can shoot."

That presumably rules out Howard, who has connected on 21.4 percent of his three-point attempts during his career. In fact, he never made more than two triples in a single season until the 2019-20 campaign when he made three.

To his credit, he has shot more threes of late and went 8-of-15 from deep last season when he was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. While it is a small sample size that doesn't exactly mean he will suddenly be Dirk Nowitzki from beyond the arc, it was still a solid showing when he was asked to fire.

It follows that Brooklyn would ask for a big who can stretch the floor.

After all, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant draw much of the attention from opposing defenses, which opens up space on the outside for all of their teammates. A center who could work in a pick-and-pop with the two offensive leaders would pose a number of challenges for defenses attempting to account for so many threats.

That hasn't been Howard throughout his lengthy career even if he did shoot well for the Lakers.

Still, the 36-year-old is a future Hall of Famer with a resume that includes eight All-Star selections, five rebounding titles, two block titles, an NBA title, eight All-NBA selections, five All-Defensive nods and three Defensive Player of the Year awards.

He is well past his prime and was a secondary contributor at best for the Purple and Gold last season at 6.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game, but teams could presumably do worse for a deep bench option in the frontcourt.

It seems like that team won't be the Nets.

The NBA punished the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday for tampering this past offseason, and the New York Knicks might be next.

The NBA announced that it stripped the 76ers of their second-round picks in the 2023 and 2024 drafts for tampering with free agents P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr.

With that context as the backdrop, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the NBA is still investigating whether the Knicks tampered with Jalen Brunson when he was a free agent.

It seems as if the league may be taking a harder stance on tampering moving forward considering Wojnarowski reported "the NBA and NBPA are expected to revisit the rules that punish teams discovered to have had discussions with player agents on pending free agents ahead of free agency's official start."

While the report pointed out ending tampering is "hard to police and largely impossible to eliminate," the 76ers were punished for the practice Monday.

The NBA also announced in December that it was stripping the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat of second-round picks for tampering with Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry, respectively.

Brunson was New York's biggest addition of the offseason. He signed a four-year deal worth $104 million. In August, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that the league had already started a tampering investigation, which is still ongoing.

On June 28—before free agency officially opened—Tim MacMahon of ESPN reported that it was "widely anticipated" the Knicks were going to offer Brunson a deal of four years worth more than $100 million.

The Villanova product is off to a solid start this season. He's averaging 18.2 points, 7.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game through his first six contests. The Knicks are off to a 3-3 start, which is tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference in the early going.

Brunson, Julius Randle and RJ Barrett are a solid trio that should help the Knicks remain competitive this season, but their pursuit of the point guard may cost them draft capital in the future.

The NBA announced Monday it stripped the Philadelphia 76ers of their second-round picks in 2023 and 2024.

The league determined the Sixers violated tampering rules while pursuing P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr. in free agency. The Sixers began negotiating with both players before the window to do so opened.

"The Philadelphia 76ers fully cooperated with the NBA’s investigation and acknowledge the league’s ruling," the Sixers said in a statement. "We’re moving forward, focused on the season ahead."

Meanwhile, the league confirmed the Sixers didn't run afoul of any rules when they re-signed James Harden to a two-year, $68.6 million deal.

Harden accepted less money in the short term—he declined a $47.4 million player option—and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in July that some around the NBA were wondering whether the two parties already had a "handshake agreement in place on a future contract."

Every NBA offseason, the running joke is always the number of deals that get reported moments after the free-agent negotiating window opens. Finding concrete evidence of tampering isn't easy, but it's something league officials have clearly identified as a priority.

The Sixers have become 4th team in the past 24 months to be hit with the loss of a second round pick as a result of tampering, joining the Bucks, Heat and Bulls, as the league has started to become more aggressive in penalizing these early contacts between teams and free agents.

— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) October 31, 2022

The NBA and NBPA are expected to revisit the rules that punish teams discovered to have had discussions with player agents on pending free agents ahead of free agency's official start, sources said. The practice is rampant, but hard to police and largely impossible to eliminate.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 31, 2022

Losing two second-rounders isn't a massive blow for Philadelphia. Draft picks, especially those outside of the first round, have limited value to a team with championship aspirations.

The penalty isn't so punitive that it incentivizes the Sixers to avoid tampering again to land their free-agent targets, either.

The current collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and National Basketball Players Association expires after the 2023-24 season, and either side can opt out by Dec. 15. With a new CBA in the offing as early as summer, this could be a topic of discussion at the negotiating table.

Nike released a statement condemning hate speech Monday in the aftermath of Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving promoting an antisemitic film on his social media accounts last week.

"At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech, and we condemn any form of antisemitism," the company, which endorses Irving, said in a statement to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

Irving posted links and screenshots of the movie Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America to his social media accounts last Thursday. The movie is rife with antisemitic tropes and includes the false assertation that many powerful Jewish people "worship Satan or Lucifer."

I started watching the movie Kyrie tweeted out to prepare for today's episode of @debatable. And if you were wondering exactly how insanely anti-Semitic it is, just know that they show this quote from "Adolph Hitler," as such: pic.twitter.com/1Z8bzKzFen

— Pablo Torre 🕳️ (@PabloTorre) October 31, 2022

Irving's posting of the antisemitic film came in the immediate fallout of the controversy surrounding rapper Kanye West, who lost billion-dollar business deals with Gap and Adidas after making derogatory remarks about Jewish people.

Nike has not said whether it plans to sever its relationship with Irving, who has been with the brand since his rookie season. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in May that Nike was unlikely to extend its relationship with Irving after his contract expires with the brand next year.

“Can you please stop calling it a promotion? What am I promoting?… Don’t dehumanize me up here.”

Kyrie Irving and Nick Friedell have an exchange during the Nets postgame press conference.

(via @_Talkin_NBA)https://t.co/7oUmmSL05U

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 30, 2022

In a tense back-and-forth with a reporter Saturday night, Irving defended his right to make the post and denied allegations of antisemitism.

“I’m not going to stand down on anything I believe in,” Irving said. “I’m only going to get stronger because I’m not alone. I have a whole army around me. ... Did I do anything illegal? Did I hurt anybody? Did I harm anybody? Am I going out and saying that I hate one specific group of people?”

The NBA and Nets organization, including governor Joe Tsai, released statements condemning antisemitism in wake of the controversy. (The NBA statement did not mention Irving by name.)

This is bigger than basketball

— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) October 29, 2022

Irving also doubled down on his post of an Alex Jones conspiracy about secret societies in America, saying what Jones claimed was "true." Neither Jones nor Irving has offered any plausible evidence of the existence of this so-called "New World Order."

Jones, a far-right conspiracy theorist best known for being the founder of InfoWars, is one of the internet's most dangerous purveyors of misinformation. He was recently ordered to pay nearly $1 billion to the family members of the Sandy Hook school shooting after claiming the children were actors hired by the government.

While Irving said he did not stand with Jones' assertations about the Sandy Hook shootings, he did not back down in standing with the reviled radio host's other conspiracies.

Rather than understand the impact of his words, Irving has shirked responsibility and claimed he was not "promoting" anything despite exposing a little-known, antisemitic film to his more than 20 million followers on social media.

There was an increase in antisemitic violence following West's rhetoric, and Jewish people are consistently the most targeted religious group for hate crimes in the United States.

It's become clear Irving either does not recognize the power his words can have or simply does not care about the potential impact.