6:32pm: John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 disputes Haynes’ report, tweeting that the idea of the Suns meeting with Irving is “absurd” and won’t happen.
12:02pm: After ESPN reported on Wednesday that Kyrie Irving plans to meet with teams when he becomes a free agent on Friday, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report provides more details on Irving’s plans, writing that the star point guard is expected to meet with the Suns in addition to the Mavericks and possibly other teams.
Those meetings will likely take place in Los Angeles, according to Haynes, who hears from sources that the Rockets could seek an audience with Irving as well.
It’s easy to see why Irving would want to set up meetings with potential suitors, even if a return to Dallas appears to be the most likely result of his free agency. The Mavericks may not feel compelled to offer as many years or dollars as Kyrie would like if they believe they’re bidding against themselves.
Still, it’s hard to see how the Suns could emerge as a legitimate threat for Irving unless he’s willing to take a massive pay cut. With Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton owed a combined $163MM in 2023/24, Phoenix’s team salary projects to be above the second tax apron ($182.5MM), which would prevent the club from acquiring a player via sign-and-trade.
Even moving Ayton wouldn’t put the Suns in position to make a competitive sign-and-trade offer from Irving, since a hard cap would limit team salary to about $172MM. Durant, Beal, and Booker will earn a combined $130MM, which would leave just $42MM for Irving and at least 10 other players.
Irving could theoretically sign in Phoenix for the veteran’s minimum, of course, but that’s a highly unlikely outcome for a player whose exit from Brooklyn this past season was reportedly related to the Nets’ reluctance to offer him a big-money, long-term extension.
The Rockets are in better position to make Irving a significant offer, but have been linked more frequently in recent days to another free agent point guard, Fred VanVleet.
According to Haynes, the Mavericks are hoping to get a commitment from Irving early in free agency this weekend, so he can help the team recruit other free agent targets.
The Sixers need to get in on this action
Make it work and then make it happen!!!
The Sixers have 2 All Star quality pointguards now. Why would they want to bring in this trainwreck. Now if Harden Bolts then maybe.
@ Cuffs2
I would rather have Irving over Harden
Top 35 unrestricted 2023 NBA Free Agents
1. Kyrie Irving 6’2 195
Point Guard 31 years old
2. James Harden 6’5 220
Point Guard 34 years old
3. Draymond Green 6’6 230
Power Forward 33 years old
4. Khris Middleton 6’7 225
Small Forward 32 years old
5. Fred VanVleet 6’0 200
Point Guard 29 years old
6. Jerami Grant 6’8 210
Power Forward 29 years old
7. Brook Lopez 7’1 280
Center 35 years old
8. Nikola Vucevic 6’11 260
Center 32 years old
9. Kyle Kuzma 6’9 225
Power Forward 28 years old
10. Jakob Poeltl 7’1 245
Center 28 years old
11. Bruce Brown 6’4 200
Shooting Guard 27 years old
12. D’Angelo Russell 6’4 195
Point Guard 27 years old
13. Harrison Barnes 6’8 225
Small Forward 31 years old
14. Josh Hart 6’5 215
Small Forward 28 years old
15. Russell Westbrook 6’3 200
Point Guard 34 years old
16. Christian Wood 6’9 215
Power Forward 28 years old
17. Naz Reid 6’9 265
Center 24 years old
18. Dillon Brooks 6’6 225
Small Forward 27 years old
19. Donte DiVincenzo 6’4 205
Shooting Guard 26 years old
20. Kelly Oubre Jr. 6’6 205
Small Forward 27 years old
21. Gabe Vincent 6’2 200
Point Guard 27 years old
22. Max Strus 6’5 215
Shooting Guard 27 years old
23. Caris LeVert 6’6 205
Small Forward 29 years old
24. Jalen McDaniels 6’9 205
Small Forward 25 years old
25. Dennis Schröder 6’1 175
Point Guard 30 years old
26. Lonnie Walker IV 6’4 205
Shooting Guard 24 years old
27. Patrick Beverley 6’2 180
Shooting Guard 35 years old
28. Josh Richardson 6’6 200
Shooting Guard 30 years old
29. Jae Crowder 6’6 235
Power Forward 33 years old
30. Mason Plumlee 7’0 255
Center 33 years old
31. Seth Curry 6’1 185
Shooting Guard 32 years old
32. Georges Niang 6’7 230
Power Forward 30 years old
33. Joe Ingles 6’7 225
Small Forward 36 years old
34. Torrey Craig 6’7 220
Small Forward 32 years old
35. Shake Milton 6’5 205
Shooting Guard 27 years old
Thanks for that, Champ
Yes, thank you for taking the time to put that out.
The sixers are a joke
Hahaha, they are not
As a Celtics fan I approve this message
If the Rockets could get Irving and move on from Harden then they should jump on it. A much better scorer than Harden that won’t shrink in critical moments. Younger and generally in better physical conditioning in terms of weight, etc. can take over a game at any point. Can distribute and share those responsibilities with Maxey. He has heart. You just have to hope he can stay focused to on court stuff and avoid injuries.
Maxey doesn’t play for the rockets
Kyrie Irving meeting with the Phoenix Suns don’t make no sense to me. Maybe if they never traded for Bradley Beal but now it makes absolutely no sense.
Yes please.. Get him out of Dallas please.
I made this list the day before Naz Reid got his 3years $42 million deal from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
I cannot think of a quicker way for the Suns to become irrelevant than signing Kyrie Irving.
The guy is the new definition of team cancer.
Im not sure you know what irrelevant means
Neither do you. Your comment is irrelevant.
Wow you are correct…
Here I thought “irrelevant” meant the 2019-2020 Boston Celtics, the 2020-2023 Brooklyn Nets and the 2023 Dallas Mavericks.
Thank you for clairifying that for me, now be gone and go see if Uncle Drew is on Hulu.
Be gone? What are you? A foppish dandy atop his candy throne?
Yes. Hope my Rockets aren’t dumb enough to sign this guy. Loved when the Mavs got him. He did exactly what I thought he would do to them.
I’m hearing about a lot of player movement and I honestly think Bruce Brown should either resign with the Denver Nuggets or go get a bag!!!
I’m not a D’Angelo Russell fan and if the Los Angeles Lakers don’t resign him I think it’s going to be hard for him to find a big money deal out there for him. He showed on the biggest stage that he’s more of a 6th man instead of a starting Point Guard.
Los Angeles Lakers will do great if they went after Donte DiVincenzo. Do right by the organization and make up for losing Alex Caruso a couple years ago. Donte DiVincenzo is the real deal and I would love to see him and Austin Reaves in the backcourt.
Donte DiVincenzo will be an upgrade over D’Angelo Russell. I know he might not score like him but he’s a stomp down defensive player and very good rebounder for his position and got a nice three point shot. He will fit perfectly with what we trying to do on the Los Angeles Lakers. I know this is a move that will make LeBron James happy.
Even if we put Dennis Schroder at the starting Point Guard and keep Austin Reaves at Shooting Guard it’s better than Russell at Point Guard. When the Western Conference Finals came we couldn’t even play him.
I get that you’re a DiVincenzo fan. I get that he had a good season for the Warriors. But some of his shots in that final series….Oy! And in the final in particular, Laker guards were blowing right past him
Still, wouldn’t surprise me if LA is his landing point
Irving didn’t do ANYTHING to them. He just wasn’t a good fit with Luka and the weakened the defense and the bench even more than it was prior. Why do ppl blame the player for a poor GM decision? Boggles my mind. That’s like if the MJ Bulls traded for Reggie Miller and asked him to be a ball handler distributor to facilitate the offense rather than being the elite off ball shooter he was. Irving/LBJ worked well but while Luka has some similarities to LBJ’s game he absolutely disappears from team play concept when the ball isn’t in his hand. Even if it’s possible for them to coexist (Luka/Irving) they need a full training camp to figure it out AND need complimentary pieces to impact wins. Their defense is non existent. That’s on the GM not the players necessarily. Yes Luka CAN try harder on defense but he is what he is.
You’re crazy. The question isn’t about Irving ruining the team. It’s about how the hell can you possibly think having 3 smallish guards that need the ball in their hands plus Durant would possibly work? Unless they want to flip Beal it’s absurd. But there’s only 1 ball on the court and trying to spread shots between those 4 is bound to stimy someone’s . They need a strong physical wing at the SF position or a PF. Either way they need someone who can defend, rebounds and Durant need the ball in their hands.
Ask the Nets…
BTW history is on my side. Crazy people keep thinking Kyrie has actually done something.
Failed at Duke,
Failed initially in Cleveland until Lebron Saved him,
Failed in Boston,
Failed in Brooklyn,
Failed in Dallas.
Am i missing something?
Yeah, the super team idea sure worked well in Brooklyn. Maybe the Suns can petition the league to use more than one ball in games to keep all the egos happy
The “super team” in Brooklyn played like 20 games together…
Yeah, that was part of the point. The pouting apparently was contagious
Whos fault was that?
Can’t make this stuff up
sure you can. you can make anything up. that’s the dumbest saying ever.
So Kyrie, Beal, Booker, KD….
Sign Melo, Boogie, OJ Mayo, Tyreke Evans, Jamal Crawford, Lance Stephenson, Brandon Jennings, JR Smith, LMA, Blake?
Kemba Walker gets no respect.
Compared to these guys he is young and healthy.
Love Kemba, but he hit a wall fast. He needs to go over to Germany and do that Kobe treatment first.
I hear Kareem needs a new gig.
That would be the best roster in the league…..5-7 years ago.
so what can Phoenix trade they have no draft picks left
He is a free agent.
Think he meant as a sign and trade
suns don’t care about money or the tax
Kyrie really out there trying to find the end of that flat earth.
Kyrie never wastes an opportunity to get some attention. He is taking a max extension from Dallas. He knows that and Dallas knows that.
How did Irving make this public? Relax
Nobody deserves Kyrie …… just walk away
Make it happen Mat Ishbia!!!!
It’d be hilarious if he did end up on the Suns…
Mark from Cuba would be left out un the cold waiting for Luka to ask out because the Mavs can’t reclaim the cap space that was Kyries dead money…
And the Suns would be the train wreck that was Brooklyn all over again…
Not gonna lie… Would like to see it happen…
Speaking solely to the CBA mechanics here and if there’s a pathway for the Suns to avoid the hard cap (resulting from a Irving sign-and-trade):
Couldn’t Irving extend for 2yrs @ 105% raise pre-July 1 and then would be instantly trade eligible within the extend-and-trade rules? His 105% extension number could be matched by Ayton + Wainright or Payne.
That sort of extend-and-trade isn’t permitted after the season for pending free agents (see section 95 of the CBA FAQ).
Decides reading about the NBA being pretty much the same as reading the National Enquirer or the current escapades of the Kardashian family; the other thing I love is how fans have to learn all about the convoluted CBA in order to discuss possible player moves.
I even saw one here the other day whereby a poster noted that an article here had misunderstood what the CBA allowed regarding a team and its player, and the writer thanked him, then corrected the article.
Sports are supposed to be fun for fans and easy to follow. The NBA is so convoluted in it’s CBA – where the players and lawyers run the league – that fans can’t possibly keep up. It’s almost as bad as what the refs call or don’t call on the court regarding the rules, but that’s pretty much the same as how pro wresting is refereed.
It’s all for show and entertainment. Nothing to do with being a professional sports league. Lots of money floating around. Lots of people getting filthy rich.
Hey Mat… S&T for Kyrie – send Ayton to the Pacers and send Buddy and Turner to Dallas!!! It’s a great deal!
Make it happen Mat!
Absurd lol
This just in ………. Kyrie says !!!!
“He’ll be a Sun when the sun rises in the West”
Man, I hope you’re right.
Sure, why not? Might as well also trade for Harden and do that whole Nets thing all over again.
Suns need a backup big, Diogu, do you have sneakers?
They don’t have a cent left, in case you ask.