Nets Rival Pulls Out of Blockbuster Trade for Kyrie Irving: Report

The Brooklyn Nets are in an interesting position this offseason as they have to build a roster to compete next year while also looking for trades for both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

Durant has four years left on his deal, so they are looking at a massive haul in return, and it might be difficult to find that. Using the Rudy Gobert trade as a measuring stick, the Nets are almost certainly expecting something even bigger than that in return.

While Durant is commanding a lot of the headlines, Irving is also somebody who could bring in a decent haul. Irving has most commonly been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers as that’d reunite him with LeBron James along with having clear piece to trade in return with Russell Westbrook.

There are many teams out there who could use the services of Irving, but not everybody is willing to take on the the potential headache that comes with it. Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reports both the Philadelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks have removed themselves as potential landing spots.

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Two Teams Pull Out

The Mavericks made sense as a landing spot because Jalen Brunson departed to the New York Knicks, so Irving would’ve been a way to replace him and then some.

For the Sixers, they would’ve been able to create a superstar trio with him, James Harden and Joel Embiid. Both options make sense on paper, but Fischer reports both teams don’t have a ton of interest in making it happen anymore.

“While the Mavericks and Sixers have been discussed as theoretical destinations for Irving, league sources contacted by B/R have strongly discounted Dallas and Philadelphia’s interest in the All-Star guard,” he reported.

In the case of the Sixers, the Nets might’ve been able to get a good haul in return as it’d almost certainly have gotten them Tyrese Maxey, a player who was unavailable last year in the Harden trade. Then again, the Nets have been trading players with the Sixers a lot lately, so maybe it’s for the best.

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Lakers Most Likely?

With those two teams out of the picture, it does seem like the Lakers will be the most likely landing spot for Irving in the event he leaves Brooklyn.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says the two sides are still in talks with each other, and it might come down to draft picks for the Nets.

“The Nets have talked with the Lakers and I believe there has been back-and-forth, some communication,” he said, as transcribed by NetsDaily. You look at where there’s cap space right now and a team like San Antonio could be a facilitator right now in let’s say a Russell Westbrook for Kyrie Irving deal between the teams. They have the cap space. Now, you have to incentivize them at a pretty high level and I think that’s the willingness of the Lakers to incentivize a deal with multiple draft picks. I think that’s part of the reason that the deal hasn’t gone anywhere yet.”

If the two sides can find a middle ground to meet at, perhaps a deal could get done.

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