The Brooklyn Nets’ aspirations of becoming the next great thing in the NBA have completely fallen apart. A team that once boasted Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden will soon have none and instead will soon be seeking to establish a new identity.
Irving was the source of frustration for Harden due to his ineligibility to participate in the Nets’ home games. With the realization that winning a championship in Brooklyn was not in the cards, Harden requested a trade and found his way before the midseason deadline to the Philadelphia 76ers.
There was optimism about what a potential trio consisting of Durant, Irving, and Ben Simmons could achieve after the Harden trade. Irving’s eligibility for home games was later restored, but Simmons never appeared in a single game during the 2021-22 season. Brooklyn went on to become the only team swept in the first round of the playoffs.
After the Nets’ attempts to play hardball in contract negotiations with Irving, they understood it could be the end of their relationship with both of their remaining superstars. Brooklyn’s front office was not afraid of that possibility and now find themselves facing it.
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Irving exercised his $36.5 million player option and days later, Durant formally requested a trade. Both players will be done as Nets players soon.
With Durant being signed for four seasons as a result of a recent contract extension, he is unable to dictate where he ends up. He listed the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat among his preferred destinations, but again, the Nets will send him to whichever team is willing to give them the most favorable return.
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As for Kyrie Irving, he is entering a contract year, and given a combination of already depreciated trade value and the threat of being a one-year rental, he can better angle his way where he wants. Where does he want to end up? The Los Angeles Lakers. He wants to team up with LeBron James, his superstar teammate when they won the 2016 NBA Finals as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
There was fear within the Nets that Irving was going to be willing to decline his player option to sign with the Lakers for the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception. There was a short period of time when that was under serious consideration, but sacrificing roughly $30.0M was too much of a risk to take.
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Ultimately, Kyrie Irving still has the option of finding his way elsewhere via trade given the Brooklyn Nets’ motivation to send him elsewhere. If not, he can always rejoin LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers next summer using free agency.
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