Kyrie Irving reveals he asked Nets for release following COVID-19 vaccine suspension

Kyrie Irving's tenure with the Brooklyn Nets will likely be remembered for off-the-court incidents more than his dynamic play. The superstar guard was suspended to begin the 2021-22 season as he was unwilling to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

He was suspended again the following season after tweeting an Amazon link to a film titled, "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America", and his subsequent refusal to speak out against antisemitism. The two incidents led to Brooklyn not offering Irving a contract extension and him ultimately requesting a trade, which landed him with the Dallas Mavericks.

While he was not traded until the trade deadline in 2023, the nine-time All-Star recently revealed that he asked to be released following his first suspension in 2021.

"Even the people that I was in business with were pro-vaccine," Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving stated Tuesday. "I'm like, okay, look, that's fine, but just leave me the (expletive) out of this and let me go somewhere. I even told the Nets to release me. I said, 'yo, can you please just release me?' And, obviously, the money situation -- different situation, I'm (expletive) Kyrie. I say that very aware of my position, but they weren't just going to let me rock out."

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Although Irving's time with the organization was marred with controversy, he performed at an elite level when he was available. He averaged 27.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 48.9% from the field, 39.6% from three-point range and 90.9% from the free-throw line.

Irving became the ninth member of the 50-40-90 club -- and just the fourth member to average at least 25.0 ppg -- in 2020-21. Brooklyn appeared to be legitimate title contenders that season, however, injuries to him and James Harden derailed their postseason run.

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