Getty Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets.
The Brooklyn Nets are in the midst of attempting to trade star forward Kevin Durant, and that has left the team in a state of turmoil.
Sending a future Hall of Famer out in the middle of his prime is a bold decision, but it’s something that Durant wants. What is unknown is what this will mean for the rest of the team going forward.
In the case of point guard Kyrie Irving, it doesn’t seem to mean much. After a week of uncertainty before Durant’s trade request, Irving picked up his player option and decided to play out the rest of his contract with the Nets.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania, speaking on the Pat McAfee Show, reveals Irving’s plans haven’t changed amidst the drama.
Irving is Locked In
Are the Brooklyn Nets still trying to win ONE of these @ShamsCharania
Irving’s plans are always tough to tell, but Charania says he’s heard from people the point guard plans on staying with the Nets for the next season no matter what happens with Durant.
“Kyrie Irving, he opted in with the full intent of playing out next season as a Brooklyn Net,” he said on the show. “From everything I’ve been told, in his mind he’s playing next year in Brooklyn with or without Kevin Durant in a lot of ways. Kyrie Irving opted in, I think there was an understanding that he was going to make the best decision for himself, and Kevin Durant on the other hand, is obviously making his decision as well. From everything I’ve been told, Kyrie Irving has made his intent he wants to play out next season in Brooklyn.”
This is good news for the Nets at least, unless they still plan on trading him if Durant heads out of town.
Irving’s talent has never been in question, but his commitment to winning a title has been. With his availability being a major issue last season, the Nets were never able to get a good rapport going with him and Durant, and it showed mightily in the first round sweep against the Boston Celtics.
Durant and Irving came to Brooklyn together, and it’d be an interesting sight to see Irving as the last one standing on the Nets.
Will Irving Get Traded?
With the Los Angeles Lakers being the only team actively trying to make a trade for the star guard, the likelihood of Irving being trade appear to be slim at the moment.
There are a pair of big names on the market in Donovan Mitchell and Durant, and those players both have several years left on their contracts, so they could be more appealing to a team instead of getting a simple rental of Irving.
It’s tough to tell what the future holds for Irving next year once his contract expires, and that could be the biggest thing holding a team back from trading for him. If they could get assurances he’ll be both available and resign with the them, then he’d likely have suitors all over the league. As it stands right now, it looks like the Lakers are the best bet.
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