Nets point guard Kyrie Irving has the ability to opt out of his contract and depart in free agency this summer, but all indications “strongly” point toward Irving remaining in Brooklyn, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
According to Lewis, both Nets and league sources say Irving is more likely to sign a contract extension than to explore free agency.
If he wants to stay with the Nets, Kyrie could either pick up his player option and then tack additional years onto it with a contract extension, or decline the option to sign a brand-new deal with the team — it’s unclear if Lewis’ wording means the former scenario is more likely than the latter, or if he’s simply using the term “extension” as a catch-all for a new contract with the Nets.
Either way, Lewis says the sentiment around the NBA is that Irving isn’t going anywhere. The seven-time All-Star is still close friends with Kevin Durant and has a good relationship with Nets owners Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai. Irving spoke at the end of Brooklyn’s season about “managing this franchise together” going forward along with Durant, Tsai, and general manager Sean Marks.
Even if Irving is a good bet to stick with the Nets, it remains to be seen exactly what his next contract will look like. Lewis spoke to a pair of cap experts – ESPN’s Bobby Marks and an unnamed source – about the possible structure of Irving’s next contract and both experts suggested that an agreement that the club could have interest in negotiating incentives related to games played, given Kyrie’s history of missing time for both personal and injury reasons.
“I agree most (likely) he comes back,”the anonymous source told Lewis. “As for a contract, I’d probably try to get him back at an annual rate at what he is currently making. They could give him a contract below the max with unlikely incentives that allows him to reach the max. Unlikely incentives are capped at 15 percent of a player’s salary in a given year. So they can make his salary 15 percent less than the max, then give incentives to allow him to get the full max.”
In Marks’ view, a three-year max contract that would become fully guaranteed in year three if Kyrie plays at least 60 games in each of the first two seasons might make sense for both sides.
All the Nets fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief. LOLOLOL!!!!
Which of these Nets legends would you rather have if you could have them for their whole career, Michael Ray Richardson, Deron Williams, Kenny Anderson, Kyrie Irving or Mookie Blaylock? Rank if possible…
Michael Ray
Another silly list man! Dude…
Irving has been with the Nets for 3 seasons, averaging under 35 games played per year and accomplishing nothing in that time. He is not a Nets legend.
He thinks he’s a coach and front office leader. Pity the poor Nets fans…
Legends? You have a low bar. Sugar Ray had 1 great season with the Nets, and was hurt or compromised the rest of his time there (he was legendary for the recreational activities that caused most of it though). I’d take Sugar Ray, anyway, as long as I can trade him for Bernard King. Otherwise, 1) Anderson, 2) Blayock, 3) DW, 4) KI. None of them had long careers with the Nets either.
Blaylock played fo the Nets, then they traded him and he got good.
Deron Williams gets no respect.
D Will was great with UTH, (almost) to the point of justifying his being drafted ahead of CP3. As soon as he came to the Nets, though, both his athleticism and his skill level began to deteriorate on all fronts. He was only in his late 20’s. Very odd.
Your 1st choice is Kenny Anderson?
Yes, if the Bernard King trade is no longer available.
This has nothing to do with friendships and relationships. It’s all about the money and financial security. If Irving’s agent thought he could get a max contract on the free agent market, he’d opt out. So he’s trying to leverage an extension with the Nets instead.
@Trog
I disagree. Kyrie likely wouldn’t want to go to a city that’s very right leaning or conservative. He likely wouldn’t want to go somewhere without a large enough African American population. He would want to go somewhere that can pay him the most AND still have comfortably to be himself.
Miami
… other considerations: being on a championship-caliber team will allow him to retain more value for future contracts. Also, he could consider playing in a system that is less stressful on the body to.avoid injuries.
Yet he spent the last year as an opponent of the COVID-19 vaccine living in Brooklyn…
Of course he is. He wouldn’t opt out for nothing and who had the cap to sign him?!
Also:
What team would want him?
Mets should run fast