Kyrie Irving is an extremely gifted basketball player.
There are probably not ten players in the world that have his skill set, but skills aren’t the only thing that matter when playing on a team. For whatever reason, since he hit that three over Steph in the NBA Finals, wherever he goes, the teams seem to get worse, not better. Maybe he should have never left LeBron, but the NETS are extremely hesitant as they should be to give him a long-term contract extension.
According to Shams, other teams who are desperate to get to the NBA Finals are more willing to take the risk.
Nearly two months later, it appears both sides have serious work to do in order to find a resolution that brings Irving back to Brooklyn and his co-star in Durant, who is under contract with the Nets through 2025-26. Several teams across the league have kept tabs on the situation, wondering about the future of Irving and Brooklyn.
The Lakers, Knicks and Clippers are expected to be among the interested suitors if Irving heads elsewhere, multiple sources tell The Athletic.
For the Lakers, the likely path to acquire Irving — and reunite him with LeBron James — would be Irving opting in to facilitate a trade, because the Lakers cannot realistically clear cap space to sign him themselves, and a sign-and-trade would trigger the hard cap, thus making acquiring Irving significantly more difficult. If Irving would opt in, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka would have to satisfy the collective bargaining agreement’s salary-matching rules, meaning if Irving’s $36.6 million was the only incoming salary, the Lakers could send anywhere from $29.3 million to $45.8 million to the Nets and/or a third team in a legal transaction.
“We’re looking for guys that want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, play team basketball and be available,” Net GM Sean Marks said in May. “That goes not only for Kyrie but everybody here.”
For the Nets, the fate of Irving’s free agency is one to keep an eye on as the NBA Draft and free agency near.
Kyrie responded to the news in classic Kyrie fashion.
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