2022-23 Team Developments: News / Trades / Free Agents / Rumors

Yeah. I thought the same about the Union. On the other hand it sounds like the Nets gave him multiple chances to just say he was sorry and keep it moving. Definitely will be interesting to see where this goes.

 

yeah, we're 2.5 games out of the playoffs with some teams really overperforming early. we just need to survive the early schedule and then string together some wins. i'm looking at getting to 9-11 or 10-10 at the 20 game mark. i'd consider that a win, all things considered. then we're dealing from a position of strength, too.

 

Don't believe him.

 

Considering Kyrie is self Sabatoging his own career when he knows how important of a contract year it is for him, at this point I would only want him in the Lakers if he’s willing to take the non taxpayer MLE in the off-season.

The Westbrook expiring contract and/or cap space is better suited to just get 2 starting caliber players that fits around AD/Westbrook and maybe if we have enough money for a productive 6th man as well.


Lately I’ve been really liking D’Anthony Melton out of 76ers. He reminds me a lot of Caruso defensively but far better offensively, legit 3 and D threat. Guys like that would be solid gets if we can swing it somehow.

 

Give Kyrie the keys

 

Kind of figured that was bound to happen and was why we haven't gotten any real movement on this yet. It's a little alarming that Tsai needed anyone to tell him this and didn't understand the optics of this. Factor in the Kyrie fiasco and you want a church mouse that's been vetted by every leadership group in the known world as your next head coach. Hiring someone who is currently suspended for the year for any reason is not a good look.

 

Kind of funny he's raging at one unintentional issue but wants to walk right into another intentional one.

Talk about mixed messages. That's sports for you. And politics. Selected outrage.

 

https://theathletic.com/3769515/2022/11/07/nets-nba-executives-poll-kyrie-irving-kevin-durant/


NBA executives poll: Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and the debates surrounding the Nets’ future (again)

Sam Amick
Nov 7, 2022
29

If you took the name away and posted Kyrie Irving’s resume’ on the proverbial NBA job board, there’s not a general manager alive who wouldn’t come running.

He’s a 30-year-old, seven-time All-Star who has averaged 23.1 points and 5.7 assists in his 12 seasons, statistical marks that have been achieved by only 13 other players in the league’s 75-year history. He has a ring (and the unforgettable shot to help win it), is constantly near (or in) the elite 50-40-90 shooting club, and won gold medals in the Olympics and FIBA World Cup to boot. As hoops entertainment value goes, it just doesn’t get much better than the dazzling artistry that is his below-the-rim game.

Yet in the wake of Irving’s recent suspension from the Brooklyn Nets for promoting an antisemitic film on social media, and after all these years in which he missed more Nets games than he played because of injuries, his vaccination stance and “personal reasons,” most of the 11 team executives who spoke with The Athletic on the subject made this much clear: If given the opportunity to trade for him this season or sign him if the Nets waived him or when he becomes a free agent this summer, they’ll be running the other way.

“He’s the opposite of a commodity, which is what you want a player who’s getting paid that much to be,” one general manager said.

“I think Kyrie might not play in the NBA again,” said another general manager.

“It’s gonna be one-year deals from here on out (for Irving),” a front office executive said.

“With Nike pulling away, that makes it even tougher for him,” one owner said of the shoe company’s decision to suspend its longstanding relationship with Irving.

So with Irving’s Nets career widely expected to end this summer, at the latest, will some executives be so tantalized by his talent that he gets another chance elsewhere? And with all the tumult that came with Kevin Durant’s offseason trade request and Irving’s latest off-court controversy, what does it all mean for this Nets future that is uncertain yet again?

As it stands, the Nets (4-6) are waiting to see if Irving will fulfill the six action items required by the organization for his return. This comes after they already fired Steve Nash as coach just seven games in last week, and are reportedly expected to hire suspended Boston C Bagscoach Ime Udoka (who is a former Nets assistant) as his replacement.

In an attempt to get a better sense of how the rest of the league views the Nets’ sensitive situation, I spoke with five front office heads and six other executives about the latest daunting challenge that faces Nets ownership and management. Of those 11, only one expressed a possible interest in adding Irving at some point down the line. Durant, as evidenced below, is a whole different matter entirely when it comes to league-wide interest.

The executives, who included representatives from both conferences, were granted anonymity in name and title because they’re not permitted to speak about other teams or players publicly. They are all referred to as front office executives below.

The Kyrie future
First things first, there’s the basic question: Is there any chance that all this self-inflicted drama means he’ll be forced into early retirement?

For the most part, the executives believe that Irving’s career will continue in some form.

Front office executive No. 1

“No (his career isn’t nearing an end). It’s just like (Latrell Sprewell) back in the day. You have to put everything in historical context. No matter how egregious something is, everybody thinks there’s a Jesus out there that can save them.” (After choking Golden State coach P.J. Carlesimo in an early December practice in 1997, Sprewell was suspended for one year by the NBA. The Warriors subsequently traded him to the Knicks, who re-signed him in November 1999).

Front office executive No. 2

“He will not be on (our team), but someone will (want him). They always do for his talent.”

From there, of course, it becomes a question of payment amount and length of the terms. To that end, a recent history reminder is in order here.

When Irving strongly considered opting out of the final season of his deal worth $37 million in late June, there were rumblings that he might be willing to sign a taxpayer midlevel deal with the Lakers ($6.4 million) as a way of getting where he reportedly wanted to go. Yet as we reported in early October and a sentiment that still exists, sources say the Lakers have significant concerns about the prospect of adding Irving at any price and have not been focused on that scenario all season long.

It’s quite clear that Laker Land is a highly unlikely, if not impossible, landing spot.

Yet as we discussed, the prospect of him having to eventually take a significant pay cut somewhere remains very real.

Front office executive No. 3

“The problem you have is, ‘Is he going to be able to play?’ It doesn’t matter why you can’t play. It doesn’t matter if it’s because of COVID or a league suspension, or a team suspension. In order to be a good player, you have to play. And this is even before dealing with the stuff that the Nets were dealing with before COVID, where he just didn’t feel like playing basketball half the time.

“I think he’s a really challenging guy. Leaving aside whether he’s a good human, a bad human, whether he’s using his platform correctly or anything else, and even if I have zero morals and I’m just making a basketball evaluation, you need him to play. It doesn’t matter why someone can’t play, but how do you feel good that he’s gonna be available?

“He doesn’t play basketball, and that’s for a guy who’s now probably the best on the court he’s ever been. But he’s getting to an age where, presumably, injuries are gonna get more frequent and everything else. This is the healthy version of him, too. So I think it’s really challenging. I guess there’s some chance he plays for the small midlevel or whatever, so maybe a team would do it. I just think it’s really challenging.


Front office executive No. 4

“Just looking at Sean and his history, where he’s come from and what he’s done in Brooklyn, and then knowing that you have these (high-caliber guys) in this draft, I don’t see how he doesn’t (tear it down). Maybe it’s pressure from ownership, and they want to win, or whatever — who knows? But left to his own devices, I think it’d only be natural to expect that they move Durant.”

A quick bit of necessary context: While the Nets have a first-round pick for this year’s draft, Brooklyn has a pick swap with Houston that means the Rockets will receive the better of the two teams’ picks. The Nets also have a pick swap with Philadelphia, meaning their pick would improve if the 76ers finish the regular season with a worse record.

So while there’s no path with the Nets pick to landing top prospect Victor Wembanyama, there is a chance (however small) that they could land the No. 2 pick and have the chance to take Scoot Henderson. As our Sam Vecenie made clear recently, the top of this draft is considered very strong.

As a related side note, there’s this bit of remarkable Nets history: Their last lottery selection was Derrick Favors at third overall in 2010 — back when the franchise was still in New Jersey.

Front office executive No. 7

“If I’m the Nets, I’m looking to get a young star and a bunch of picks to retool the team. They’ve done it in the past already, and they can do it again. It’s a similar spot (leverage-wise to the summer, when the offers were known to be underwhelming for a star of his caliber). But before the season starts, everybody feels comfortable and is optimistic about their team. Now some teams are seeing cracks in their own foundation, and you start thinking, ‘Someone like Kevin Durant will completely change our trajectory.’”

New Orleans is often brought up in league circles as an intriguing prospect for a Durant deal with Brooklyn, what with Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and all those surplus draft picks down on the Bayou. But as one executive surmised, Durant’s preferences would likely come into play again if the decision were made to move him.

Front office executive No. 6

“I’m assuming there’s some sort of agreement with Kevin. Like, ‘Look, if you want to move, we’ll move you. And we’re not going to move you to New Orleans and we’re not going to move you to Sacramento and we’re not going to move you to Indiana.’ So if the best Brooklyn can do is the Lakers, then if I was the Lakers, that’s what I’d be waiting on.”

Front office executive No. 8

“I don’t see them giving up (Durant) now. Not yet, anyway. They’ve gone this far. They’re going to want to see where it goes, especially with a new coach coming in.”

But it all starts with Irving. Either he fulfills the Nets’ demands and spends the rest of the season reminding the league’s talent evaluators why he’s worth the substantial risk, or continues this bizarre backward slide in a once-storied career.

Front office executive No. 5

This (Irving suspension) is a step towards getting rid of him, whether it’s flat-out cutting him or trying to trade him. And I just can’t imagine KD wanting to be there, not because of his relationship with Kyrie but because the level of talent that’s going to be on that roster at this point in his career (will be subpar). I don’t see him saying, ‘Yeah, let me stick it out here and just be the eighth seed in the East for the next three years.’ I would think he would probably want to move on at that point.”

 

No on Kyrie.

I'd definitely be working to see if there are any other guys the Nets want to move on from.

 

I've scoffed at the idea in the past, but it might honestly be time to trade AD. I've come to believe/accept that he's never going to be as good/healthy as he was in 2020 ever again. He's still an extremely good player and our best player so far this season, but he's not a top 10 player in the league right now and LeBron seems to have fallen off a bit as well.

If we offered AD/Nunn to the Blazers for Simons/Nurkic/picks, they think long and hard about that IMO. We get a good young player and maybe some draft picks. Until now I've fully believed that a Turner/Hield trade could vault us back into contention, but I just no longer trust LeBron/AD to be good/healthy enough to carry even that improved roster deep into the playoffs. Go into the offseason with LeBron, some younger pieces from an AD trade, $30+million in cap space and the 2023/2027/2029 picks + additional draft compensation from an AD trade all available.

 

I'd stomach Kyrie if we were somehow able to do the KD/Kyrie for AD/Russ thing.

 

if AD goes, lebron goes, imo. as you said, AD's our best player right now. and he's younger and makes less money. if you're keeping one, he's the one you keep. further, FA won't yield anyone better than either one of them, so moving one means you're full-on rebuilding in some form or fashion.

and there are definitely teams that would pay for each. and more than people think, imo.

i still don't think we're there yet, though.

 

I don’t think we trade LeBron or AD.


If we did though i definitely think we could get a haul for AD. A contender could put him on some kind of load management plan and have him ready to go for a playoff run.

 

contenders usually dont have good picks to deal

 

I understand the logic, but realistically we could get some picks back depending on what players we get for the 2 picks, but ultimately not what we would give.

 

i don't think we can worry about what we're giving NO. that's already happened. quite frankly, if we can't win enough to stay out of the top 8 without trading our future 1sts away, i'm not sure what to say. utah traded their top two players away for throwaways and picks and are in second place in the conference. we should be able to win half our games with this roster.

also, if we go in the tank, we lower AD and lebron's trade value and run the risk of them getting injured before we can move them, too. i just don't like moving the picks for any deal i've seen.

 

I suspect KD is ready to be away from Kyrie