Stephen A. Smith Goes Off on Kyrie Irving, Urges Nets to Trade Him

Kyrie Irving is ruffling more than a few feathers with his anti-vaccine stance. Now Stephen A. Smith has gotten in on the act. On Monday's episode of Stephen A's World, Smith went off on Irving and urged the Brooklyn Nets to trade him.

Smith's patience with Irving has worn thin and he pointed out the superstar guard won't be able to play much for the Nets anyway if he's unvaccinated. Unvaccinated players won't be allowed to play in New York or San Francisco this year and, in case you're not up on East Coast geography, Brooklyn happens to be in New York.

Here's what Smith had to say:

Irving is a brilliant player, but if he's going to miss half the team's regular season games (and half in the playoffs), how can you justifying paying him $35 million this season? The answer: you can't.

The Nets have championship aspirations and likely still would without Irving. Kevin Durant and James Harden could easily lead a team to a championship, and the return for Irving could help Brooklyn fill out its roster even more. Dumping Irving over his moronic vaccine stance could easily be justified for competitive reasons. It's certainly worth considering.