It looking more and more likely that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will be running it back this upcoming season.
It was reported days ago that the Los Angeles Lakers made two of their future first-round picks available for a trade to acquire seven-time All-Star Kyrie Irving, however now there are reports that the Brooklyn Nets have lost faith in their ballhandling guard.
ESPN basketball insider Nick Friedell spoke on the two parties and where they stand before the beginning of the season.
“He’s gotta play, he’s gotta be a part of that team every day,” Friedell said. “And he’s got to play at the level that everybody in the league knows he’s capable of. But he hasn’t shown it in the last couple of years. So, is it possible to regain that trust? Absolutely. Kyrie is an incredibly talented player. One of the best guards we’ve seen in this era. Having said that, the team and organization, they don’t trust him, and that trust has eroded over time.”
Despite how they feel, the Nets have reportedly “made clear to interested teams” that they don’t plan to trade point guard Kyrie Irving ahead of the 2022-23 NBA season, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Charania added that Irving, who’s been heavily linked to a potential reunion with LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers, has been “holding constructive dialogue” with the Nets’ front office throughout the offseason.
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Brooklyn appeared to be on the precipice of blowing up it’s star-studded roster for most of the summer, but it seems the franchise will be having Durant, Irving, and Simmons on the floor.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Thursday that Irving is “invested” in remaining with the Nets and the focus has shifted to Kevin Durant’s decision following his trade request in late June.
“Right now, I think the Nets want to run this team back and they’re hoping Kevin Durant agrees,” Windhorst said. “The way they’re conducting trade talks and the prices they are asking has teams out there thinking they don’t really want to trade Kevin Durant anyway. They want to bring this team back.”
Brooklyn is coming off a 2021-22 campaign where they got swept out of the first round at the hands of the Boston Celtics.
