NBA executive says Kyrie Irving is pouting

Cleveland Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving appeared to be one of the young, great point guards in the NBA, but he hasn’t had the same type of production and domination that we would have expected to see so far this season.

While many are left wondering what is wrong with Irving, a Cavaliers beat writer wrote that he is hearing from NBA executives that the star point guard is simply “pouting.”

From Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal:

"The whispers have been growing louder around the NBA for weeks and now Friday’s scoreless performance will get everyone’s attention. With each lousy shooting performance, more and more people want to know: What has happened to Kyrie Irving? …I asked him tonight after the cameras and recorders were put away if his arm is still bothering him, but he said no. Irving fell on his right arm during the second game of the season at Charlotte and complained of numbness. He said afterward it affected his shot and he was taken for x-rays, but they revealed nothing and Irving was back for the next game. Irving is sensitive to his injury history, and I thought perhaps he is playing through some sort of discomfort in the arm to keep from admitting he’s hurt again. But he said no, so we move on.Irving’s performance is baffling not only fans and his teammates, but other executives around the league. Players in the locker room have told me on multiple occasions he’s missing shots he never missed before. “He’s pouting,” was the explanation I’ve heard recently from two league executives."

If Irving is indeed “pouting,” that could give some support to the reports of locker room issues with the team.

However, it is also likely that Irving is simply going through a slump and his high level of play from a season ago has left us to expect the most out of the young star and hold him to a much higher standard.