NBA off-season 2022: Brooklyn Nets negotiations with Kyrie Irving have stalled

According to multiple sources, Kyrie Irving may be on his way out of Brooklyn following an “impasse” in negotiations. The Brooklyn Nets, who looked like a future dynasty a year ago with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving, may lose two of their stars by the time free agency ends. Following Irving’s hesitance to get vaccinated combined with his general injury record, the Nets were said to be hesitant in offering the star guard a long-term maximum contract deal. Three teams have been linked with Irving: The New York Knicks, LA Clippers, and LA Lakers. Signing Irving would be straightforward for the Knicks. For the Lakers and Clippers, both teams would likely require Irving to accept his player option this season before trading for him.

In his piece on Monday night, Shams Charania said, “One of the most anticipated free-agency situations involves Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving, who has a June 29 deadline on his $36.9 million player option for the NBA 2022-23 season. However, multiple sources tell The Athletic that conversations about Irving’s future have gone stagnant between him and the Nets. Those sources said that an impasse currently exists among the parties that clears the way for the seven-time All-Star to consider the open marketplace.”

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Charania added, “A potential Irving departure would be incredibly damaging to the Nets because of their limited ability to replace him, and his salary slot should Irving sign elsewhere as a free agent. A likelier path to any departure would be via sign-and-trade. Brooklyn owes $111 million to six players in 2022-23, not including Irving, so even filling out the roster with minimum salaries would put the Nets over next season’s projected salary cap of $122 million.”

“If Irving bolts, Brooklyn’s strongest path to adding talent would be the full $10.3 million mid-level exceptions. Irving is also eligible for a new deal via exercising his player option and extending his contract from there, which could land him a starting salary of $45.2 million for 2023-24,” concluded Charania.