Nets star Kevin Durant is monitoring Brooklyn’s situation and “considering options with his future,” sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). While Charania’s report is vague, it suggests Durant may not be completely satisfied with his current situation despite being under contract for the next four years.
The Nets’ negotiations with Kyrie Irving figure to be a crucial factor in Durant’s deliberations, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN detailed earlier this week. Irving and the Nets were said on Monday to be at an impasse in their contract talks, and Kyrie and KD are close, so their futures may be connected — if one leaves Brooklyn, the other would likely be more inclined to follow suit.
According to Charania, Durant’s deliberations open a path for Irving to look more seriously at finding a new home via opt-in and trade.
Meanwhile, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) that Irving has a list of teams he would like Brooklyn to consider in sign-and-trade scenarios if he and the Nets don’t reach a new agreement, including the Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Heat, Mavericks, and Sixers. Those are teams Irving is interested in, though not all of them would necessarily reciprocate that interest and make him a top priority, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).
Irving has a $36.9MM player option that he must make a decision on by next Wednesday. Picking up that option would mean he either returns to Brooklyn or relies on the Nets to trade him. Declining it would make him an unrestricted free agent, in which case he could either re-sign with the Nets or join a new team, possibly via sign-and-trade.
Teams that will be over the tax apron (projected to be approximately $155MM) for the 2022/23 season would be ineligible to acquire a player via sign-and-trade. Of the teams on Irving’s wish list, the Lakers, Clippers, and Mavericks are all on track to be well above the apron, while the Heat and Sixers also aren’t locks to stay below it. That would complicate sign-and-trade scenarios, so Irving’s best route to changing teams without taking a massive pay cut would be with an opt-in-and-trade.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks observes (via Twitter), Irving’s current contract includes a 15% trade bonus, so if he were to exercise his player option and be traded without waiving that bonus, his salary for 2022/23 would increase to over $42MM, with the Nets responsible for paying the extra $5.5MM.
Irving is seeking a lucrative long-term contract this offseason, while the Nets have reportedly been pushing for a shorter-term deal. If the two sides can find common ground, Irving and Durant both seem like good bets to remain in Brooklyn, but the fact that both stars are now said to be considering their options isn’t great news for a Nets team that already had to trade away one superstar earlier this year when James Harden asked out.
Who is likely to make the best offer?
Nets won’t get equal value in return.
Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Heat, Mavericks, and Sixers
Nets may attach Harris contract in the deal.
Irving $34 million this year
Harris $19 million this year.
he can opt out and leave for nothing
Good teams don’t have $40 million cap room.
After Opt in
Nets should have 3 requirements for Irving deal
1. Need a centerpiece in the deal
2. Save Nets luxury tax
3. Valuable future First round picks
Mavs could only offer Brunson and salary filler in a sign-and-trade (I am assuming he is looking at about 4 yrs/$100M) with the Nets but that would mean (1) Brunson has interest in playing for Brooklyn (2) Brooklyn us interested in signing him to that contract and (3) Nets would be interested in Mavs salary filler since both teams are over the cap … which means you have to include Hardaway Jr … or Powell+Dinwiddie … something of that nature. It is a long shot and don’t see either team interested, but that’s how it could come together if they were.
Nets can NOT receive any player via Sign and Trade according to CBA rules (tax apron)
Sure they can. Why would Irving list all of those teams in a sign-and-trade. They are all over the cap, as well. When you do a sign and trade like that, it hard caps you for that upcoming season.
Centerpiece for Irving deal
Lakers: centerpiece from 3rd team (Westbrook and 2 Firsts for Irving and Harris via third team)
Clippers: centerpiece from 3rd team
Knicks: centerpiece from 3rd team
Heat: Herro and Lowry
Mavericks: Dinwiddie and Finnie Smith
Sixers: Harris, Green, Thybulle for Irving and Harris
Those salaries do not match.
KD to the Suns and if so they will get their 1st ring
Nah, KD for Wiggins+picks, he’s coming back home to win real rings, not Suns hypothetical ones.
Dream on.
(IMPOSSIBLE, SALARIES DON’T MATCH).
The Clippers will get it done. Mark my words. Them or Miami. Maybe Sacramento or the Pelicans if they’re feeling dangerous…
you seem very confident
As a rockets fan I love hearing this, the sooner the better
All those draft picks and draft swaps until 2017 lol … they made out like bandits
KD to the Raptors.
There are only 4 destinations that make any sense. The sixers if they traded Tobias Harris for Kyrie. I think that’s least ideal considering Harden quit on the nets team and wanted out. The Lakers in a trade for Westbrook and other assets. This only makes sense if Lebron and Kyrie have completely squashed their beef. The Knicks because they are desperate, they probably actually make the most sense. The last I could see is Miami as they could dump Duncan Robinson among other assets
Lakers only asset is their ‘27 pick which isn’t enough
Idk THT or Reaves could be considered and asset as could Nunn
Also Goes to show neither Durant or Irving is impressed or excited about anything they’ve seen out of Simmons behind closed doors
Lol man yall be reaching
How is that reaching? If they were excited about the Simmons potential and viewed themselves as a legitimate contender then they wouldn’t be looking to explore elsewhere. Embiid wasn’t excited about Simmons either. I think these superstars can reasonably judge the superstar potential of other players. Simmons is trash relative to his contract. He will handcuff a team the same way Westbrook is currently with lakers. Wall isn’t only because rockets aren’t trying to win anyway
This is about Kyrie trying to get as much guaranteed $ in his new contract as possible. Simmons has zero to do with this, clearly.
Or Kyrie just wants all the money and doesn’t care which of seven teams gives it to him. Maybe that too, yeah?
If all Kyrie cared about was money he wouldn’t only have a list of 7 teams lol. He’s also not happy the team didn’t have his back with his rightful Covid stance. So between that and Ben Baby it’s clearly not a good situation
Poor KY nobody loves him
I mean I don’t feel bad for him he’s worth like 100 mil lol
@wow
Kyrie wants ther moody money from a city he wants to live in or feels he can compete with.
Lol @ “rightful Covid stance” ( which blew up the Net).s
Due dilligence before the draft happens and options decrease.
John Collins, Danilo Gallinari, Sharife Cooper, #16 overall & Atl’s 2024 1st (top10 protected) for KD… who’s beating that?
No disrespect, but that’s laughable. Gallo is a role player, Cooper has shown next to nothing, #16 pick has little value in a very thin draft class, and Collins, although a very nice player, doesn’t bring an otherwise underwhelming offer close to being acceptable.
Who could beat it? Plenty of teams, even your Hawks provided they include Trae (which obviously wouldn’t happen).
Gallo is just a throw in for salary purposes, I figure they waive him & save the $… Just bc you haven’t seen Cooper doesn’t mean he’s shown nothing, don’t be so narcissistic. He was 1 of the best guards in the G-League while playing out of position & being 1 of the youngest/smallest guys in the league. He’s exactly the type of piece Brooklyn would want to rebuild with if they’re forced to move on from KD & Kyrie… Very thin draft class? Smh negative. This class is deep asf… if there’s other offers you can come up with headlined by a guy better than John with more cap relief & young talent than this 1 lmk…
Porter/Bones/1st crushes your little trade
Who put this together in first place? Now he wants to bail, hope Nets just keep him. He deserves to have to do it all himself now.
Shams “sources” are Kyrie’s camp.
The claim that KD is monitoring the situation leads to “open(ing) a path for Irving to look more seriously at finding a new home via opt-in and trade” makes zero sense.
Yup, nothing to see here yet. I was actually expecting something like this to come out given the impasse talks.
That said, you never know with Kyrie. It would not surprise me to see the Nets become the viable championship contender they were expected to be…or to see them implode in short order
What a collapse and total failure by the Brooklyn Nets. This is what happens when you let the players run the team folks.
this trio in Brooklyn has got to be one of the most embarrassing and pathetic situations in nba history
..well 2nd to the 2022 Lakers anyhow
You forget about when Crack hit the NBA in the 80s. Or the league barring non-whites for decades. This isn’t close to the most pathetic or embarrassing situation in nba history
Jail Blazers, Malice in the Palace, Kobe rape case, Donald Sterling, Tim Donaghy. The Nets being eliminated from the playoffs, and Kyrie doing what Kyrie always does, are not in the same conversation.
Enabling Karl Malone the peedo
Aren’t all 4 of LeBron’s rings (as well as all of USA’s recent medals in Olympic basketball) also what happens when you let the players run the team?
4? You mean 3?
His 4-6 record in the Finals? Yeah, sure.
He got 2 of his 4 rings running the team. LeBron learned what it takes to win from Riley.
There are some players way more capable than executives of running a team. Kyrie, no, not a chance. Durant, probably not so much either. As good as Durant is, I don’t think he has the makeup to want to dabble in those things. He just wants to play.
You’re painting with broad strokes, though.
Kyrie is just a cancer, so much talent but such a bad fit as a person to be an NBA star. And this guy seeks for a max, I wonder which dumb franchise will give him that, it’s shocking that he has a market after all the crap he did the last 2+ seasons.
salty nets fan?
Just a salty human
Nah Kyrie literally made up something in his head, believed what he made up in his head to be true, and said “this lie about the plague I am choosing to believe in because I am too big a coward to understand plagues are real and we experienced one, this lie I now believe is much more important than winning games, the thing you pay and depend on me to do.” – the most selfish teammate of all-time. He belongs on a last place team the rest of his career, because that’s all he cares about.
It should feel weird & wrong to call a man you’ve never met a cancer, especially doing it anonymously & behind his back? I know you love John Wayne, what would he say about that type of behavior?
@Sankara it’s getting hard to read this website with you crying about anyone who says something negative. Kyrie is a cancer, get over it
Imagine Kyrie opting out and signing with the LAL for 6 million.
That would really show he cares nothing about (more) money.
Imagine Kyrie opting out and signing with the LAL for 6 million.
That would really show he cares nothing about (more) money.
he’d get the Westbrook treatment of trying to carry a bunch of scrubs while the dinosaurs sit out
Kkkk…that’s true man….AD and LeBron wasted too much energy making movies, eating tacos, chillin’ in LA….and couldn’t stay on court a full season….
By the way, I’m a LAL fan….but honestly….I think your comment is right on….
im still not convinced he is going anywhere
Don’t do it, Knicks.
Hilarious to see these guys ready to bail on Brooklyn after running their mouths so much. No backbones or stones on either of these two clowns.
Kings receive Durant, Rose, and Randle
Knicks receive Irving
Nets receive Barnes, Fox, Plumlee, #4, #11, two future firsts
Hornets receive Holmes, Harkless, and D. jones
Screw Durant! He ran his mouth about the Knicks. I never wanna see that clown in a Knicks jersey. He has no stones.
You wouldn’t if this happened…
Well, then I guess you don’t wanna see 90% of NBA players in a Knicks jersey. Good luck with that.
There is no way on god’s green earth or Kyrie’s flat one that Durant would force his way to the Kings.
Durant just posturing to get his buddy the money he wants.
Kyrie to the Lakers. KD to the Sixers.
KD for Wiggins and picks, complete the circle…
No matter how many times you post your wishful thinking, that doesn’t work under CBA rules.
Please let Kyrie walk, tired of his s**t. Durant will never dog it even if Irving leaves because thats the type of guy he is, gives his all 24.7. Let Kyrie walk and sign Beal
Damn Kyrie left the Warriors of his list. J/K
These guys are the precise reason that you NEVER sign a pre Madonna!
NEVER EVER!!
It’s prima donna, not pre Madonna lol.
I think this is more Kyrie than KD. Send Kyrie to DC for Beal.
Come home KD. Wizards extend Beal.
Durant, Beal, Porzingas
No shocker but I am disappointed at the lack of respect or loyalty that both Kyrie and to a smaller extent, Durant are showing towards the Nets ownership. Durant was given a max contract with mngt knowing he would miss all if the 1st year. Then they Kyrie missed more than half the games possible either top injuries, personal time taken off or because he wasn’t vaccinated. If it were me I would feel like I owed the Nets something. And Kyrie has shown no concern to KD.
I find it a bit odd that Kyrie listed the Sixers when part of the reason Harden went there was to get away from Kyrie or, at least, his unpredictability.