Kyrie Irving Is The Worst Leader In Sports

There are plenty of prima donnas in every sport, but none pollute a locker room like Kyrie Irving. After demanding a trade away from LeBron James and becoming an outcast in Boston, Kyrie chose his next destination: alongside Kevin Durant with the Brooklyn Nets. All seemed to be handcrafted to his liking, yet he's still not happy. Instead of meeting with the media like he's supposed to, he released a statement instead:

"My goal this season is to let my work on and off the court speak for itself," Irving said.

It's amazing how leadership has become avoiding the media and forcing teammates to answer tough questions for you. Kyrie has built a resume throwing fits whenever he doesn't like the media's narrative about him. In Cleveland, he was upset the media gave LeBron all the credit for the Cavaliers' success, so he demanded a trade in hopes of getting credit elsewhere. Irving arrived in Boston only to discover he didn't like the attention that came with being a leader. Now, he handpicks Brooklyn, where players are also expected to address the media. He doesn't want the media circus, so he insists his teammates handle it for him.

No wonder he's never happy. Kyrie Irving wants the credit of being Batman while maintaining Robin's responsibilities.

Here's what needs to happen

Kevin Durant joined forces with Kyrie in Brooklyn, and they have a chance to tackle the leadership role together. Instead of designating one player as the leader, they could handle Brooklyn's locker room as a team effort.

But they won't. This will fail miserably. If Durant wants to save this team, he needs to become the leader he tried to be in Oklahoma City before he went to Golden State. He was on a positive trajectory there, but teammate Russell Westbrook stunted his growth.

KD has an opportunity now to get in the ear of Kyrie and talk some sense into him. Both Irving and Durant should want to win an NBA championship in Brooklyn, but they won't be able to if one of them goes into hiding and lets role players speak for him. It looks weak, and it lacks accountability.

Kevin Durant has a clear path to save Kyrie from sinking Brooklyn's ship. Only time will tell if KD is up to the task.