I look at Kyrie and I see someone who is honest. It costs him and his team to be that honest, but he'd not hiding. He has positions I don't agree with, like his sage burning and the vaccine positions. But he shows his mental and owns it. He uses mental health days when he can't perform. I am alright with that. I don't need to kick the guy. He has tremendous talent and maybe his "honesty" isn't a team first attitude we expect from professional basketball players. But he appears to be owning the consequences of that too. He owned the inability to play without a vaccine.
I can appreciate people not wanting those mental health concerns on our team. For me, I don't think it will detract from his effectiveness in the long term. If I had a Hall of Fame player 60 games a year instead of 82, I'd be ok. We kind of have that in Rose. It then becomes a question of cost. I can't commit assets and 45mm to a guy that shows up 60 games a year (I don't think the pandemic DNPs repeatable). But that doesn't mean there isn't some price I would pay. I think this is a buy low situation. Man, Ben Simmons landed Harden for Philly. At his best he is a top 10 player in the league. Knicks should be looking at everything until they find a stud.