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Ric Bucher has copped criticism from fans for claiming that Kyrie Irving made outrageous demands of Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai during talks over a potential contract extension. However, with Irving also denying the validity of the quote, fans sent in reactions to Bucher's "sources".
Ric Bucher has come under fire of late for making some absurd claims. He faced criticism as recently as a few days ago after reporting that Ben Simmons left the Brooklyn Nets' group chat when they asked him to play in Game 4 of last season's playoffs.
The Athletic's Shams Charania denied the validity of these claims, while Bucher faced significant backlash for reporting "fake news".
In similar circumstances, Ric Bucher reported the information he has on Nets superstar guard Kyrie Irving. He said:
"[Nets governor] Joe Tsai has already shown he’s willing to play hardball with Kyrie by taking a max extension off the table almost immediately.
“Now, part of that may be Kyrie’s doing. I’m told he wanted his new contract to guarantee he wouldn’t have to play more than 60 games in a season and would not have to play any back-to-backs, which he apparently referred to as inhumane.”
Although the story garnered a lot of attention from fans, the situation took a wild turn as Irving responded to the tweet himself.
Posting a GIF of a baseball player tipping his cap, Irving shut down Bucher. His tweet sent social media into a frenzy.
Here are some of the funniest responses on Twitter:
The knives appear to be out for Ric Bucher after Irving shot down the analyst's claims. However, with Irving's reaction to the tweet, it could also be suggestive of some future developments in his offseason saga.
Kyrie Irving's busy offseason
Alongside superstar teammate Kevin Durant, Irving has been the center of attention in the offseason. Irving pushed for a move away from the Nets in the offseason after being denied an extension. The Lakers were one of the teams interested in the guard, who ultimately opten into his player option.
There may be new developments on the horizon as the Lakers are willing to include draft picks in the package for Irving.
