The 2022-23 season for the Brooklyn Nets seemed doomed at various points last year. They had Kevin Durant handing in a trade request in the offseason and once the season started, Kyrie Irving found himself in trouble after posting a link to a film that had been described as antisemitic.
They managed to get past all of that and prior to Durant going down with an injury last month, had risen all the way up to the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference. With KD’s return not being too far away, there was cause for optimism that they could potentially go all the way this season, only for Irving to request a trade on Friday.
The first sign that things could end up like this came last month when Irving’s agent stated that he wanted to stay in Brooklyn, but there had been no significant conversations regarding an extension. It would appear now that the Nets did offer Kyrie an extension, but it was one with stipulations, which was rejected, as per Shams Charania.
via The Athletic:
“The Nets recently offered Irving an extension with guarantee stipulations, according to league sources, an offer that was declined.”
“League sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations who have been granted anonymity so that they could speak freely say that the extension offer was not well received and that there have been significant differences that have emerged between the Nets and Irving.”
For the Nets, they would have wanted to protect themselves in case things went south with Kyrie once again. As for Irving, he might have felt that he had shown them he can stay out of trouble in these last few months, and the fact that they still wouldn’t offer him a fully-guaranteed extension would not have been well received. Shams also says here that significant differences have emerged between the two sides which led to this trade request.
Kyrie Irving Will Play For The Nets This Season If He Doesn’t Get Traded
There were some questions that immediately came to mind once this news broke. One was where could he end up, with the most common answer being the Los Angeles Lakers, to play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The second one to pop up was whether Irving would want to play for the Nets this season if he doesn’t get traded and the answer to that seems to be yes. NBA insider Chris Haynes thinks that Kyrie would cooperate and finish out his contract, so the worst-case scenario could potentially be ruled out for the Nets. Still, it is hard to see them winning this season with this Kyrie cloud hanging over the team.
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