The Brooklyn Nets are going through a difficult moment right now after contract extensions with Kyrie Irving led to an impasse between the veteran guard and the team. Now, everything points out that Irving is living his last days as a member of the Nets organization.
If that wasn’t enough for the Brooklynites, this situation has opened the door for a potential Kevin Durant exit, too. According to recent reports, KD is watching the Kyrie saga while studying his options for the future, which could be away from Barclays Center.
Kristian Winfield of NY Daily News reports that in the case that Kyrie decides to find a new home in the league, Kevin Durant could follow in his footsteps and request for a trade.
We already know the Nets have been unwilling to give Kyrie Irving a long-term contract extension after he played a grand total of just 103 regular-season games in his first three seasons in Brooklyn, and after his decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 ruined the Nets’ championship hopes last season.
We also already know Kevin Durant’s future is intrinsically tied to the decision Irving and the Nets make. If Irving and the Nets cannot come to an agreement that keeps the superstar guard in Brooklyn, Durant, who signed a four-year, $198M extension last summer, is likely to request a trade from the franchise that failed to keep his co-star in town.
The market for KD will be even bigger than for Kyrie, but it’s unclear which teams will try to steal him from the Nets. This situation has gotten more complex every day, and as things stand right now, we’ll likely see Irving and Durant defending different colors next season.
Some say the Los Angeles Lakers are the frontrunners to acquire Kyrie’s services, but it’ll take a lot of work to make that happen. The same could be said for Durant, but nobody will complain about landing a player of his caliber. The 2022 free agency is a couple of days away, and even though we don’t have big names on the free market, it’s safe to say this can be a very entertaining offseason.
