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The 2020-21 NBA season was quite the roller coaster ride for Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving. The season started with him refusing to directly address the media when the Nets officially opened training camp last December. This decision ultimately led to both Kyrie and the Nets being fined $25k each as players are contractually obligated to participate in media availability.
Despite a rocky start to the 2020 season, Irving had one of the best campaigns of his career in his first full season with the Nets. Kyrie earned himself a nod on the NBA All-Star team for the seventh time in his career in 2021 and was voted second team All-NBA as well after averaging 26.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game. Irving also joined his teammate Kevin Durant as one of just nine players to enter the 50-40-90 club as he shot better than 50% from the field, 40% from three-point land, and 90% from the free-throw line.
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Kyrie’s Cryptic Message Hints at Hoops Future
Irving signed a four-year $164 million contract to join the Nets during 2019 free agency. He is not set to become a free agent until the 2023 free agency period but has the option to decline his $36.6 million player option next summer. In his latest Instagram post, Irving may have just hinted that he has already made the decision that he wants to be in Brooklyn for the long term.
“I’ll never take a god-given talent for granted….There is more to this journey,” Irving posted on Instagram on Sunday.
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Sean Marks Wants to Ink ‘Big 3’ Long Term in Near Future
Earlier this summer Durant inked a $192 million contract extension that will keep him in a Nets uniform until the 2026-27 NBA season. Now Nets general manager Sean Marks has switched his focus towards inking both Irving and James Harden to long-term deals. A goal that Marks hopes he and his front office staff can accomplish before Nets training camp opens on September 28.
“As it pertains to [Irving] and [Harden], we’re having those conversations with them now and I think there is no immediate hurry to get any of these guys done in terms of the first day of free agency,” Marks said to reporters per Elite Sports NY.
“These are opportunities for us to sit down, break bread together, meet with Joe Tsai, and really all get on the same page. I feel very confident that first day of training camp we’ll be looking at those three, in particular, being signed, sealed, and delivered, and be a part of the Brooklyn Nets for a long time to come.”
Kyrie is eligible to sign a four-year $182 million contract extension with the Nets this season and could possibly be hinting that he intends to sign said extension in the near future. Maybe even before training camp starts.
It seems as though re-signing with the Nets is a no-brainer for the All-Star. Even with all the injuries that Brooklyn incurred last season, they were still just a play or two away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. With all the troops at 100% coming into training camp, there is no telling what the Nets can accomplish this season.
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