Irving to exercise option to stay with Nets
NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving has decided to exercise his $36.9 million option for the coming season and will remain under contract with the Brooklyn Nets, two people with knowledge of his decision said Monday.
The Athletic first reported Irving’s decision. “Normal people keep the world going, but those who dare to be different lead us into tomorrow. I’ve made my decision to opt in. See you in the fall,” the outlet quoted Irving as saying.
On Twitter, Irving posted a separate statement: “I know who I am.”
For now, that still means a member of the Nets.
The seven-time All-Star averaged 27.4 points and 5.8 assists this past season for the Nets, with whom he has spent the past three seasons. He’s about to enter the final season in a four-year, $137 million deal with Brooklyn.
Irving had until Wednesday to inform the Nets of his optin decision. It closes one element of the ongoing saga regarding Irving’s future, which has been one of the biggest story lines as the league prepares for the start of free agency Thursday.
However, it might not be over. Irving still could have his contract extended before free agency begins. Also, the Nets still could trade him — and in fact, teams might be more interested in a deal now that Irving is on an expiring contract.
He appeared in only 29 regular-season games this past season, largely because of his decision to not be vaccinated against COVID-19. That made him ineligible to play in most of Brooklyn’s home games, until getting an exemption to New York City’s vaccine mandate in the spring.
Irving said after the Nets were swept by Boston in the first round that he planned on remaining in Brooklyn, even talking about him and Kevin Durant managing the franchise along with general manager Sean Marks and owner Joe Tsai.
Marks, however, later made clear that discussions about Irving’s future would have to involve discussions about being more available to the team, and they could not come to an agreement on a long-term extension that could have paid Irving an additional $185 million over four years.
The Nets were thinking title with their core of Irving, Durant and James Harden. It didn’t work out anywhere near as planned. Irving wasn’t with the team for the majority of the season, Harden ended up getting traded to Philadelphia, the Nets needed to survive the play-in tournament just to make the playoffs, and Brooklyn wound up getting swept in the first round by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Celtics.
But with Irving presumably back, and with Ben Simmons — who didn’t play at all this season and was acquired by the Nets in the Harden trade — set to play alongside Irving and Durant next season, Brooklyn could return to contender status.