Nets’ Kyrie Irving OK With Staying, As Kevin Durant Trade Talks Drag Along

July 13, 2022

The Nets have been active in trying to honor Kevin Durant‘s trade request. They have also looked into deals centered on Kyrie Irving. Neither is a secret.

But per Brian Lewis of New York Post, they are also being realistic and realize that both players could be with them during training camp — and who knows? Perhaps beyond.

The Nets have actually been “in contact” with Durant since his trade request, and Irving still intends to play for the Nets, even without Durant, Lewis reported.

“How did we get into this situation about trade, when he opted in?” Lewis quoted a league source as saying. “Here is the situation. He opted in, which means he had and he has every intention of playing with the Brooklyn Nets. KD decides he wants out and now everybody is talking about trading Kyrie, right?”

Another source told Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com that much of the league envisions Durant and Irving being with the Nets when camp tips off in late September or early October.

“We’ve talked to them, and they don’t seem to be in any hurry,” the source told Bulpett. “They’re not panicking, which is very smart.”

Irving repeatedly has been linked to the Lakers, and LeBron James, his former teammate with the Cavaliers. But the Nets remain his team, reports suggest.

“Kyrie wants to play. … He wants to win a championship, and he wants to play,” the source told Lewis. “I think when KD said he wanted a trade, he didn’t say I’m going to trade to where Kyrie goes.”

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski also recently suggested that Durant, specifically, may not be going anywhere.

“Brooklyn, they don’t have to take a deal that they don’t want to do. They don’t have to talk themselves into a deal,” Wojnarowski said. “At the same time, Kevin Durant, as he looks at the situation, could he look at it differently over time? That’s certainly a possibility.”

Also, per Marc Stein of The Stein Line, “whispers have increasingly circulated in recent days” the Nets may opt to keep Durant if they don’t find a deal that they like. They are very clearly are seeking a massive haul in return — and as of now, those deals aren’t available.