Kyrie Irving‘s future in Brooklyn appears to be the subject of some consternation. Irving has a player option for the 2022-23 campaign, but there is no guarantee he picks that up, while conversations between the All-Star guard and the franchise about a contract extension are reportedly in a strange place due to Brooklyn’s concern over giving him a long-term extension.
As such, reports have popped up in recent days that indicate other teams are watching the situation with some level of interest should he hit the open market. And on Wednesday, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that one team in particular is at the front of the line, but it comes with a gigantic caveat.
“The Lakers are considered the most significant threat right now for Kyrie Irving, but that would essentially entail him taking $30 million less than he can opt into in Brooklyn.”@wojespn on Kyrie Irving’s trade/contract situation.
(via @_Talkin_NBA)
pic.twitter.com/ZNJmma8ott— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) June 22, 2022
“The Lakers are considered the most significant threat right now for Kyrie Irving,” Wojnarowski said. “But that would essentially entail him taking $30 million less than he can opt into in Brooklyn. There’s a $6 million taxpayer exemption he can sign with the Lakers. Now, most people would say a player’s not gonna give up that much money, but Kyrie Irving gave up nearly $17 million because of his refusal to get vaccinated, he’s in the process of losing a shoe deal with Nike.”
Wojnarowski wrote earlier in the day that the Nets and Irving prefer to get a deal done to keep him teamed up with Kevin Durant
in Brooklyn, and he noted at the end of this hit that “there’s a sweet spot for the Nets and for Kyrie Irving to find a deal.” Whatever that number is, both in terms of money and years, remains to be seen.