Kyrie Irving said that Kyries8 are trash

Kyrie Irving's spiritual transformation seems to have given birth to a new personality and not a new player. While the Brooklyn Nets' point guard remains in the top ten of the NBA's best players, his off-court talks are often criticized. The last episode dates back to a few hours ago, when via Instagram he literally demolished the work of Nike - his sponsor since 2014 - after seeing the Kyrie 8, the latest series of the player's signature shoes. Kyrie's line is one of Nike's best sellers, but this time something went wrong: Irving expressly denounced the fact that he was never involved in the shoe design process and added that the new shoes "suck" and "they are trash":

"I have nothing to do with the design or marketing of the upcoming #Kyrie8, IMO these are trash!,” Irving wrote on Wednesday. “I have absolutely nothing to do with them! Nike plans to release it without my okay regardless of what I say, so I apologize in advance to all of my sneaker heads and true supporters of the #KAI11 brand"

The release of the shoes is scheduled for the beginning of next season, but at this point it is legitimate to ask how this paradoxical situation of total disagreement between the brand and the sponsored player will evolve. The standard process that leads to the launch of a signature shoe involves a close collaboration between a Nike team (made up of designers and planners) and the player himself who provides feedback on both the creativity and the fit of the shoe. For the Kyrie 8, according to what Irving claims, it did not go that way.

The "cancellation" option is not to be excluded, but it would result in a serious loss for one of Nike's top-sellers. Starting from scratch would damage the image of the company that has already leaked the first images of the spearhead of the collection dedicated to the Brooklyn Nets point guard. There are also to consider all the production times that a shoe of this kind has, with fundamental steps that cannot be accelerated. Extending the time is equivalent to postponing the exit and this could also amount to an economic loss for the brand.

The side of the new personality of Irving who for some years has started fighting against the big brands that in some ways do not care about the conditions of those who really need help is in contrast to a part that instead sees Kyrie as one of the players who the more it invests in humanitarian and charitable works. Simultaneously with the controversy surrounding Kyrie 8, Paani Project has made public the contribution of the seven-time All-Star to the community of Tharparkar, a district of the Pakistani province of Sindh. This area is one of the poorest parts of one of the poorest countries in the world that has suffered from drought for 17 consecutive years and it is estimated that 87% of its 1.6 million people live below the poverty line. Irving's intervention was solicited - in April - by a fan who on Twitter asked the NBA star to take part in the Paani Project, a Michigan-based NGO with Pakistani roots that seeks to improve the country's water resources. The KAI Family Foundation in Irving immediately mobilized to install a solar-powered water system that will serve 1000 villagers, but also other solar energy needs such as electricity for lighting and fans in local schools and mosques.