Irving requests trade from Nets
NEW YORK — Unable to get a new contract, Kyrie Irving is looking for a new address.
The All-Star guard has asked the Brooklyn Nets for a trade, a person with knowledge of the details said Friday.
The request comes less than a week before the trade deadline and possibly signals an ending to his tenure with the franchise, either then or after this season ends.
Irving made the request after talks about a new contract did not go to his liking, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because talks were to remain private. It was first reported by ESPN and The Athletic.
Irving is eligible for a contract extension, but the Nets refused to give him one last summer. Irving’s agent and stepmother, Shetellia Irving, told Bleacher Report last week that she had reached out to the Nets regarding a new deal. Kyrie Irving — whose current deal with the Nets expires after this season — is eligible for a four-year contract worth as much as $200 million.
“I have reached out to the Nets regarding this,” 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.”
Irving and the Nets were thought to be moving toward a long-term extension in 2021, when Kevin
Durant signed one. Instead, Irving proved himself to be unreliable, missing games for reasons unrelated to basketball, and the Nets changed their thoughts about locking into a lengthy future with the point guard.
The Nets — coming off a 43-point loss at Boston on Wednesday — open a fivegame homestand Saturday against Washington. Irving isn’t listed on their injury report, meaning he is available to play. They play six of their last seven games before the All-Star break at home; the only “road” game in that stretch is at the New York Knicks.
But whether Irving will be part of any of that is unclear now.
A tweet was posted to Irving’s account shortly before the first reports of the trade request came out; as often is the case with Irving when it comes to social media posts, it was not certain what exactly he was referring to in that post.
“To my Peers: JUST BE YOURSelf and GROW! Keep people around who CELEBRATE YOU unconditionally and appreciates all of the hard work that gets put in. Distance yourself from the folks who manipulate, hate, and hurt,” read the tweet.
Brooklyn is 31-20 this season, fourth in the Eastern Conference standings entering Friday, and has gone 4-7 since fellow AllStar Durant hurt his knee in a game at Miami on Jan. 8. Durant could return during this homestand, since he’s on record saying he wants to play in the AllStar Game on Feb. 19 — so, presumably, he’ll be back with the Nets before then.