Getty Kyrie Irving.
The Brooklyn Nets have some questions to answer in the offseason and a lot of them revolve around filling out their roster to create a championship team.
Kyrie Irving is one of the biggest areas to address because he can opt out of his contract to become a free agent this summer, or he can pick up his player option and run it back with Kevin Durant.
Irving missed a good chunk of the season for the Nets over New York City mandates, and when he did come back to play full-time the team was never able to get firing on all cylinders.
His availability has become a cause of concern for the Nets, and general manager Sean Marks didn’t commit to offering a long-term deal to Irving.
“We need people here that want to be here, that are selfless, that want to be part of something bigger than themselves,” he said. “There’s an objective and there’s a goal at stake here.”
Speaking on FS1’s First Things First, NBA analyst Chris Broussard said Irving should pick up his player option and play this thing out because a better situation doesn’t look like it’s out there.
Irving Has a Decision to Make
If Broussard was in Irving’s shoes, it sounds like he wouldn’t think twice about picking up his player option to stay with the Nets.
With so few teams around the league having cap space, it would make sense for Irving to stick with a team that could win a championship with the right moves.
“Kyrie’s gotta decide, does he opt out of the last year of his deal, or does he play one more year with the Nets and take care of it next season?” he started. “If he opts out, it’s gonna be rough sledding out there on the free agent market. The only teams with big cap room are Detroit, Orlando Magic, Indiana, San Antonio and Portland. None of which I think want to spend that much money on Kyrie and none of which he wants to play for I’m pretty sure.”
With every team listed there missing the playoffs this past season, there’s not much of a reason for Irving to consider any of them, especially at this stage in his career. It looks like his hands are tied and his best option would be to simply stay with the Nets.
“So, he’s going to need to humble himself a little bit and get with the program that the Nets are putting forth,” Broussard finished.
What Will He Do?
GettyKyrie Irving could be in line for a new contract.
For Irving it seems like the simple thing to do would be to pick up his player option. With more teams have cap space next year, that seems like it’d be a better option for him to test the waters.
Kevin Durant is locked in with the Nets for the long haul, so any future free agency decisions will have to come without him.
With Ben Simmons being healthy and ready to go next season, the Nets might find themselves making a title run.
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