Kyrie Irving and Nets ‘are deadlocked on extension talks’: LeBron James’ Lakers are ‘interested’

By Jacky On Jun 20, 2022

Kyrie Irving’s days in Brooklyn may be numbered, despite the All-Star security guard’s previous statements assuring Nets fans that he “has no intention of going anywhere.”

Multiple sources have told The Athletic’s Shams Charania that contract talks between Irving and Nets’ buyers have “stalled,” and as a result, he’s considering foregoing last year and $37 million on his current deal to become a free agent.

Irving has several options for him: he can choose the last year of his contract with the Nets and postpone the free agency until the summer of 2023, he can sign an extension to stay in Brooklyn for a longer deal, or he can opt out. opt out of testing the free agent market next month ahead of the 2022-23 season.

And as he tests his value in free agency, The Athletic reports that the crosstown rival New York Knicks, as well as the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers, would be interested in signing Irving.

The Lakers are the most intriguing option given Irving’s history with LA star LeBron James, his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate. The two won a title together in Cleveland and came back from a 3-1 deficit in the final against the Golden State Warriors in 2016 to capture the club’s maiden championship, but the relationship fizzled out shortly after.

Irving finally asked for a trade in 2017, and the team did, sending him to the Boston Celtics. As ESPN reported at the time, the New Jersey native no longer wanted to play alongside James, citing a desire to be the center of a team. The two have remained welcoming when facing each other on the field and are usually greeted with a hug.

Kyrie Irving’s days in Brooklyn may be numbered, despite the All-Star security guard’s previous statements assuring Nets fans that he “has no intention of going anywhere.” Irving (left) joined the Nets in 2019 with Kevin Durant (right), but the two failed to live up to expectations in Brooklyn

Irving could reunite with his ex-Cavaliers teammate LeBron James (almost left, almost right) at the Los Angeles Lakers. The two won a title together in Cleveland in 2016, but Irving demanded a trade the following season, reportedly because he wanted to be the center of a team.

An unceremonious departure from Brooklyn would be the third in Irving’s career, after Cleveland and ultimately Boston.

After two strong seasons with the Celtics, Irving returned with a promise to re-sign with the team to sign a deal with the rival Nets, along with Kevin Durant, in July 2019.

Since then, Celtics fans have turned it to Irving, who responded quickly.

Last year, a Celtics fan was arrested and ordered to stay away from the city’s TD Garden after throwing a water bottle at Irving during a playoff game. Irving had previously accused the city of “subtle racism” and had angered fans by stamping and scraping his foot over the Celtics logo earlier in that series.

This year, when the Nets were defeated by the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, Irving was seen wiping fans in Boston off the map, telling a heckler that he was “my d***, b** **’ had to suck.

A Boston Celtics fan wears a Kyrie Irving shirt during the first quarter of the NBA game against the Brooklyn Nets at the TD Garden on April 20

For an inbound pass, Kyrie Irving flashed both middle fingers at the crowd behind his head during the stoppage of play

When a Celtics fan yelled “Kyrie, you suck” as the Nets security guard walked to the locker room, Irving snapped back, “suck my d***, b****,” as seen in a viral TikTok- video in april

Irving has become a controversial figure in NBA arenas after his refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The seven-time All-Star has played just 29 out of 82 games this season due to a local New York City mandate, from which he was eventually waived, and the team’s decision to keep him out of the exhibition and road games, which the club reversed at the end of December.

After leaving the playoffs in the first round, Nets assistant coach and former NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire admitted that Irving’s frequent absences had a significant impact on Brooklyn this year.

“Yeah, I think it hurt us,” Stoudemire, who has since left the Nets, told ESPN in May. “It definitely hurt us because with Kyrie we didn’t have enough consistency to build chemistry with the group, with the team.

“He only plays away games depending on what city it is … can’t play in New York … so we had different formations, different encounters depending on the schedule. So it made it hard for us coaches to figure out who’s going to play, despite Kyrie. So it was difficult for us to arrange that, so yes, it was part of that.’

Despite the turmoil, Irving once again made it look like he would be sitting down after the season.

“I don’t really plan on going anywhere,” he said after the Nets’ elimination.

Despite their reported interest, the Lakers, Knicks and Clippers would have to release player pay to accommodate Irving’s deal below the NBA salary cap.