Getty Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets
Shams Charania of The Athletic shocked the sports world when he revealed that Kyrie Irving has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets and would like to be dealt away before the February 9 Trade Deadline.
Breaking: Brooklyn Nets All-Star Kyrie Irving has requested a trade, league sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The franchise has been informed that Irving prefers to move on ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline – or will leave in free agency in July.
Should the Nets abide by his request, the question remains: Will the Philadelphia 76ers give their division rival a call about a potential trade for Irving? According to reporter Jason Dumas, they’re not planning on it.
“Source: The Sixers will not be making any Kyrie Irving inquiries. The organization doesn’t have any interest,” Dumas said.
Source: The Sixers will not be making any Kyrie Irving inquiries. The organization doesn’t have any interest.
Irving has attracted a fair amount of negative press over the last year and a half. Between choosing to sit out of NBA games last season out of his refusal to abide by New York’s vaccine mandate and getting suspended for posting a link to an antisemitic film on his Twitter page earlier this season.
Irving has continued his efficiency as a scorer this season, averaging 27.1 points while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from three, so it will be interesting to see who will be interested in acquiring him if a trade partner can pull it off, and what affect that will have on the Sixers.
Irving Took Subtle Shot at Harden in January
Irving and Sixers’ star James Harden were teammates on the Nets for a year, give or take, before Harden was traded to the Sixers on February 10, 2022. Then, on January 15, 2023, Irving took what appeared to be a subtle shot at Harden when asked what was different about the Nets this season compared to last season.
“Well, I’m consistently in the lineup. That helps. We also don’t have anybody halfway in in the locker room,” Irving said.
Kyrie Irving on why Kevin Durant’s absence could have a different impact this season compared to last year: “Well, I’m consistently in the lineup. That helps. We also don’t have halfway in anybody in the locker room.”
SHOTS FIRED?
On the day Harden was traded, Joe Vardon of The Athletic detailed the strained relationship between Irving and Harden leading up to when the latter was traded.
“Definitely a weird vibe between them,” a source told Vardon. “You could tell Harden was annoyed, and Kyrie wasn’t feeling James.”
“In two seasons, Harden has quit on two teams until they traded him. When he tries to explain this one, my guess is he will not come out and say, explicitly, that he wanted to be as far away from Kyrie as possible. But make no mistake, Irving had something to do with it.”
Teams Interested in Irving
After Irving’s trade request went public, Charania revealed that the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, and Dallas Mavericks had emerged as teams interested in trading for Irving.
The Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks have emerged as potential suitors for Brooklyn Nets All-Star starter Kyrie Irving, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
All three of these teams are in the Western Conference, so should Irving be traded to one of these teams, they wouldn’t have to worry about facing Irving in the postseason unless they face his new team in the NBA Finals, and that would still depend on if the Nets fulfill Irving’s trade request.
The Nets are currently two and a half games behind the Sixers for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference standings. Their next move following Irving’s trade request could play a role in how the Eastern Conference playoffs shake out.