Nets All-Star guard Kyrie Irving has requested a trade from the team, CBS Sports’ Bill Reiter confirmed Friday. Here’s his trade request.
Kyrie Irving : Trade Request | Trade Destinations
On July 7, 2019, Irving signed with the Brooklyn Nets in free agency.
On October 23, 2019, Irving debuted for the Nets with 50 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in a 127–126 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, becoming the first player in NBA history to score 50 points or more in a team debut.
Irving became the seventh player in franchise history to score 50 points or more in a single game, and joins Stephon Marbury (2001) as the only one to also record 15 combined rebounds and assists. He also scored 25 of the Nets’ 56 points in the first half.
Kyrie Irving trade request
Kyrie Irving has asked the Nets to trade him before the N.B.A.’s trading deadline on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the request who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Breaking: Brooklyn Nets All-Star Kyrie Irving has requested a trade, league sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The franchise has been informed that Irving prefers to move on ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline – or will leave in free agency in July.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2023
Irving’s request comes three months after the Nets suspended him for refusing to disavow antisemitism after posting a link on Twitter to a film featuring antisemitic tropes.
Irving missed eight games because of the suspension and returned after apologizing.
He has averaged 27.2 points per game since his return, and the Nets have gone 22-10 with him in the lineup since then. The Nets are fourth in the Eastern Conference.
Irving’s agent and stepmother, Shetellia Irving, told Bleacher Report last week that she had reached out to the Nets regarding an extension. Kyrie Irving – whose current deal with the Nets expires after this season – is eligible for a four-year contract worth as much as $200m.
“I have reached out to the Nets regarding this,” was what Shetellia Irving told Bleacher Report. “We have had no significant conversations to date. The desire is to make Brooklyn home, with the right type of extension, which means the ball is in the Nets’ court to communicate now if their desire is the same.”
Trade Destinations
The Lakers, his long-rumored preferred destination, can only create around $34 million in cap space. That’s plenty, but it’s far off of the roughly $47 million a 10-year veteran like Irving will be able to demand under next year’s projected $134 million cap.
Beyond Los Angeles, six teams are projected to have at least $30 million in cap space this offseason, according to Keith Smith: the Rockets, Spurs, Pistons, Jazz, Pacers and Magic. All six of those teams are rebuilding, and likely wouldn’t be interested in a mercurial, veteran point guard. Only the Rockets and Spurs are currently even positioned to make a max offer.
Cap space is hardly absolute in the modern NBA. Teams can create more of it fairly easily. Sign-and-trades are the increasingly preferred vehicle for major offseason moves, but those carry hard-cap implications that rule out many big-market contenders. Even if the right team was able to give Irving the deal he craves, would it want to? He has a lengthy history of injuries. His defense has always been a major question mark.
That is why Irving had to ask for a trade now. He wants a max contract. The open market won’t have enough cap space to give him one, so his only realistic path to getting it will be through the Bird Rights Brooklyn currently holds on him.
If the Nets aren’t going to give him what he perceives as fair market value for his services, a trade is the only way to ensure that a different, more agreeable team has those Bird Rights in July.