Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving may not be on the team for much longer, and such a change would make for a chaotic start to the NBA offseason.
Irving has reportedly “requested and received permission” to find sign-and-trade offers from other teams, per Kristian Winfield. However, as noted by Woj, there are currently “no known teams” planning to pursue such a deal.
This isn’t particularly surprising, though. Beyond any concerns that teams may have about Irving’s ability to stay on the court, valid or not, there isn’t much incentive to pursue the star guard in a sign and trade right now.
Kyrie Irving’s $36.5M player option decision is due in two days. I examined what’s at stake in Brooklyn and how his preferred list of teams could acquire him, on @hoopshype.https://t.co/p74hvGG1b2
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) June 27, 2022
Look around the landscape and find the potential suitors for Irving right now.
There are only a few teams with cap space to absorb him onto their books for next season, but most of them are younger organizations. The Oklahoma City Thunder would rather give the ball to Josh Giddey. The Detroit Pistons would rather give the ball to Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey.
Other than the Lakers, the New York Knicks and L.A. Clippers were both recently linked to Irving. But it sounds like both organizations have other plans, according to Sam Amick:
“I’m also told from folks who would know that the (Brunson-focused) franchise has no real interest in Irving at the moment and fully expect him to return to Brooklyn on the contract of his choosing. As for the Clippers, I think they’re in wait-and-see mode (like a lot of teams right now) and trying to get a better understanding of all the dynamics at play here. We’ll know a whole lot more by week’s end.”
Amick believes the Knicks prefer Brunson and the Clippers aren’t in any rush to do a deal. Because, frankly, why would they (or any other team) have even a little bit of interest in giving any assets to the Nets in return for Irving right now?
Any team that gives assets to Brooklyn would just give Kevin Durant more incentive to stay with the team. But if the Nets are left with Irving spurning the team, perhaps KD wants out next. In that case, contending teams (like the Heat, Mavs, and Sixers) should save their assets for that sweepstakes.
Any front office with a legitimate interest in Irving may be willing to just wait until Wednesday. If he decides to opt out of his deal, if the interest is mutual, perhaps he would sign there as a free agent.
In that case, there would be no need to give up an asset in a sign and trade.
