Brooklyn Nets seem unwilling to offer Kyrie Irving a long-term deal, would that affect their future with Kevin Durant as well?
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The Brooklyn Nets, when they signed Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, expected to win multiple championships. It’s been three years, and the farthest they’ve gone is the conference semi-finals. In their first year, KD was injured, and Kyrie opted out of the bubble. Last year, James Harden and Kyrie Irving faced injuries during the playoffs, making the Nets fall short to the Bucks.
This year, the vaccine mandate made Kyrie miss games till January, and home games till April. Kevin Durant suffered an MCL injury in January, making the Nets drop from #2 seed all the way down to #10 once. They fought their way back to the play-in games, and the playoffs, but then were swept by the Celtics.
James Harden left them at the trade deadline, and now, Kyrie Irving has the chance to either opt-in to his final year, or become an unrestricted free agent. From the news, it doesn’t seem likely he’s getting a max from the Nets.
Skip Bayless believes Kevin Durant would leave too if Kyrie Irving does so
In his three years or rather two years with the Nets, Kevin Durant has had a few stars as his teammates. However, most of them left, with James Harden forcing his way out too. With the Nets refusing to sign Kyrie Irving on a long-term deal, there are chances that Irving might not stay.
According to Skip Bayless, this may be the tipping point for Kevin Durant.
KD left Russell Westbrook and OKC for the Golden State Warriors, so he could win. Coming from Golden State, he had hoped to win with Kyrie. However, that hasn’t happened so far. If they cannot manage to keep Kyrie, or find another star to play there, KD might ask for a trade.
Let’s see what the Nets and Kyrie end up doing, but whatever decision they take, may affect their future with Durant too.
