Veteran NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith is confident about the upcoming season being the last chapter for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving as Nets teammates.
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With the 2022-23 season being less than a week away, it won’t be wrong to say that the Brooklyn Nets will be under the radar, given the tumultuous happenings in the off-season. Beginning their fourth year in Brooklyn, both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are staring at their most difficult challenge to date.
Coming off being swept 4-0 by the Celtics in the first round of the 2022 playoffs, Durant and Irving have lots to answer in the upcoming season. Touted as the favorites for the longest time, the superstar duo’s ceiling for the Nets has merely been the conference semi-finals.
If this wasn’t enough, the recent off-season episode of them wanting out of Brooklyn has put even more pressure on their shoulders. While this is the final year of Irving’s contract, KD still has four years left, given the extension he signed last year.
Also read: “We gonna see them again”: Kyrie Irving’s sensational admission over being swept 4-0 by Celtics
As things heat up for the Nets, veteran analyst Stephen A. Smith feels this is both Durant and Irving’s last chance to make it work, adding how the latter is planning to join his former Cavs teammate LeBron James in LA next year.
“This is their last season together”: Stephen A. Smith’s unfiltered response on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s future in Brooklyn.
During a recent episode of ESPN’s Countdown, when asked how much time KD and Irving had to make it work in Brooklyn, Smith didn’t hesitate to drop the truth bomb, saying the following.
“This is it,” said the First Take analyst. Barring the trade before the trading deadline, this is their (Durant and Irving) season together. They’re not resigning with Brooklyn. Kyrie is not re-signing with Brooklyn. Kyrie is planning to go to Los Angeles.”
It’s hard to deny Smith’s points, with the evidence being the recent off-season drama in Brooklyn.
Breaking down Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s contract with the Brooklyn Nets.
Irving, who had signed a 4-year $136 million deal with the Nets in 2019, opted into his player option for the final year of his contract, earning him $36 million. Speaking of the former Cavs guard reuniting with King James in LA, it will be interesting to see if he’s willing to get paid less, given the Lakers’ limited cap space.
On the other hand, Durant will have to bear the wrath if he wants out, given he still has 4-years $196 million left on his contract. Nevertheless, if the Nets win the chip in the upcoming season, we might sing a different story next year.
