Report: Nets' Wanted Extreme "Condition" On Any Kyrie Extension, Leading to Trade Demand

If the Brooklyn Nets were going to agree to sign Kyrie Irving to a long-term extension, it would have to be on their terms. And what terms they were! According to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, it was conditional on the Nets winning the championship.

Kyrie Irving’s camp did not negotiate after Brooklyn Nets presented an offer that was tied to team winning a championship, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport. Told the issue was not about money, and now it’s said he wouldn’t even stay if offered a full max contract.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 3, 2023

Haynes says Irving's camp walked out of negotiations after the Nets "presented an offer that was tied to the team winning a championship."

He also reported that the issue apparently wasn't about money at that point, and was told that Irving wouldn't stay now even if they offered him a full max contract.

Now the Nets are faced with a decision—trade Kyrie under less-than-favorable conditions, or, as Insider Marc Stein put it, "call his bluff" and simply keep him through the end of the season. Irving would essentially be forced to continue to play for the Nets and be "a professional" (as much as he can be), in order to show the rest of the league that he's worthy of a contract in free agency.

But if he's prepared to walk at the end of the year, why insist on a trade now anyway, if the Nets, once Kevin Durant returns from injury, would still be contenders? The answer, simply, is, in fact—despite what his camp told Haynes—all about the money.

Here are the teams I project to have $30M+ in cap space this summer:

HOU: $59.1M
SAS: $46.1M
DET: $43.7M
UTA: $43.2M
ORL: $33M
IND: $30.7M

Kyrie Irving's max for next season projects at $46.9M. That's why he wants a trade. To re-sign w/ Bird Rights bc no one can sign w/ space.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 3, 2023

NBA cap expert Keith Smith reports that, essentially, only two teams would have the cap space to give Irving a contract number that he'd be interested in this summer, and they're both cellar-dwellers. So he needs a trade to another team in order to circumvent the cap and re-sign with Bird Rights.

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