After Kyrie Irving‘s agent reached out to the Nets about an extension last week, Brooklyn offered him a deal that included an "unlikely incentive" based on the team winning a championship, sources tell Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report. Haynes was told that Irving’s camp refused to negotiate after the offer, and now the All-Star guard reportedly won’t re-sign with the Nets even if he was offered a fully guaranteed maximum-salary extension, which would be worth $198.5M over four years.
According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, an "unlikely incentive" can be worth up to 15% of a contract’s yearly value.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that the Nets offered a multiyear extension, with the stipulations tied to the last year of the deal. Charania didn’t specify the years or amount that was offered.
Sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the Nets were “reluctant to rush into a long-term commitment without further evidence that Irving could stay reliable, perform at a high level and remain controversy-free.” Reading between the lines, it’s pretty clear that he wasn’t offered a four-year extension.
Despite playing at a high level when available, the market isn’t exactly brimming with teams in pursuit of Irving due to how many games he’s missed over the past handful of years, not to mention the controversy. In fact, two of the primary would-be suitors, the Lakers and Mavericks, are wary of giving up “significant trade assets” in a potential offer, sources tell Wojnarowski.
Irving, who turns 31 next month, is making $36.9M in the final year of his contract. If he’s traded, he would be eligible for a two-year extension worth up to $78.6M until June 30, but Woj sounds skeptical that would be available to Irving, especially right away, writing that “no teams are privately expressing a desire to make that investment.” That includes the Suns, another team expected to have interest in acquiring Irving.
The Nets are currently 31-20, the No. 4 seed in the East, but have gone just 4-7 since Kevin Durant was injured. Wojnarowski reports that “numerous” rival teams are “far more interested” in seeing how Durant reacts to Irving’s trade request, and if KD may decide to ask out once again, rather than pursuing Irving himself.
In an appearance on NBA TV, Haynes said he “would be very surprised if Kyrie is a Net past the trade deadline,” which is Feb. 9.
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