Kyrie Irving has been an enigma in recent years, with nobody being able to tell exactly what the Nets man is going to do next. Irving’s stance against vaccination for Covid-19 caused a fair few issues for Brooklyn last season, his unavailability was a likely factor in pushing out James Harden and it also prevented the team from building up a rhythm.
There is a saying in sports that winning cures everything but the Nets couldn’t win a single game in their playoff series against the Boston Celtics, earning the dubious honor of becoming the only team that got swept this year. All this has made Irving’s future with the Nets a doubt, with many speculating about how Kevin Durant feels about the entire situation and some suggesting that Irving doesn’t deserve an extension.
NBA insider Jake Fischer addressed the situation in conversation with Eddie Gonzalez, explaining that while there are questions about the Nets’ desire to keep Kyrie in the long term, he expects the star to be around for training camp ahead of next season.
“I’ve been working on the assumption that all three — Kevin, Kyrie, Ben Simmons — will be there for the start of training camp. However, there’s a lot of talk about Kyrie. Definitely some talk about whether they are going to figure out a long term relationship.”
Irving is entering the final year of his contract with the Nets and a lot of things will have to go right if the team is to think about giving him another massive deal once again. Kyrie has proved that it is hard to rely on him, he hasn’t reached the 60-game mark in any of the last 3 seasons with the Nets.
The Nets have gone all-in with their moves and the goal will be to bring in the NBA championship while they still have the star power. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving both aren’t getting any younger but if the Nets can get them both firing and integrate Ben Simmons, that would make them instant challengers for next season.
