Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets are seemingly set to continue their partnership with each other.
After an extremely turbulent season, Irving and the Nets were knocked out of the playoffs in an embarrassing fashion, getting swept by the Boston Celtics. Of course, Irving will be entering free agency. But Irving settled all doubts about his future, noting that he would continue in Brooklyn and re-sign with the franchise in the offseason.
But that hasn’t stopped NBA analysts from pitching potential trades for Kyrie Irving. Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz talked about potential surprise landing spots for some of the top free agents this offseason.
For Kyrie Irving, he noted that the LA Clippers could address their weak point at the point guard position by acquiring Kyrie Irving through a sign-and-trade that would send Reggie Jackson, Norman Powell, and Luke Kennard to Brooklyn.
Irving could be one of the most fascinating free-agency cases we’ve seen in years. Going off pure talent alone, he’s the best player in this class. Irving’s a 30-year-old wizard of a point guard who averaged 27.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.4 steals with a true shooting mark of 59.2 percent as a second option. Of course, everything with Irving seems to be complicated, and teams should be wary of giving him a full four-year max (or five, if you’re Brooklyn). Be it injuries or his stance against receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, Irving hasn’t played more than 67 games in a season since 2016-17 when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers. While Irving has stated on record that he won’t leave Kevin Durant, one has to wonder if the Nets actually want to keep him if the cost is a full five-year, $245 million max deal. If Brooklyn is looking for a trade partner that would be willing to take a gamble on Irving for all-in pursuit for a title, the Clippers would be an intriguing option.Joining Kawhi Leonard and Paul George would presumably be an attractive destination for Irving, who would also be reunited with former head coach Tyronn Lue.For Brooklyn, getting back a collection of starters and role players (a package of Norman Powell, Reggie Jackson and Luke Kennard would make the money work) to place next to Durant should at least be considered as well, especially if Ben Simmons can return to be the team’s starting point guard. Irving will almost certainly be staying in Brooklyn on some sort of deal, although the Clippers make sense should either side want a split.
Even Swartz added that he doesn’t think this deal is likely, mostly because Irving is committed to staying in Brooklyn and continuing to play alongside Kevin Durant. Irving spoke about the challenges he faced last season because of his not being able to play.
On top of that, Irving also spoke about being excluded from NBA 75 team, noting that he deserved to be in it. All signs point to Kyrie beginning the season with the Brooklyn Nets, and entering the season with a chip on his shoulder, wanting to prove what he can do.
