NBA off-season 2022: Kyrie Irving's free agency could impact Kevin Durant's Brooklyn Nets future
In a detailed piece, ESPN's NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski detailed the impact of Kyrie Irving's free agency decision and the reason for conflict between Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets.
FollowKyrie Irving's future remains uncertain as the Brooklyn Nets have yet to agree with him on a future contract. As also reported by other reporters earlier in the week, the Nets want to offer Irving a short-term incentive-laden contract, as the guard has quite an injury history. His refusal to get vaccinated last season also played a part. According to Woj, The Lakers would be the favourites to acquire Irving if the 2016 NBA Champion decides to leave Brooklyn. Irving's potential departure will also have an impact on Durant's future. Durant is said to be close with Irving, and the latter was a key reason behind the former's arrival in Brooklyn in 2019.
In his recent piece, Adrian Wojnarowski said, "Kyrie Irving's search for leverage on his contract discussions with the Brooklyn Nets won't be found with the threat of a $30 million pay cut to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, but the sum of the deepest franchise's fears: Irving walks, and Kevin Durant wants a trade."
ALSO READ:Â NBA off-season 2022 - Phoenix Suns considering trading into top 10 of the Draft
"The organization [Nets] wants Irving on a shorter deal, whether it's his $36 million opt-in for the 2022-23 season -- or perhaps an opt-out and new deal that could give him a raise to $42 million annually on a two-year deal. Teams are rooting for Irving to opt-out and walk away from the Nets, believing it would give them a chance to cobble together trade packages to acquire Durant," added Wojnarowski.
"As much as Durant asking out hangs over the Nets, there's also the reality that four years on his contract will mean he has little voice on when or where he would be traded. It would be a small-market team's dream, robbing a goliath of an MVP-level talent whose contractual circumstances would leave him little choice but to play for them," Wojnarowski concluded.
