Report: Nobody really wants Kyrie Irving
BOSTON -- Apparently, there are a lot of scorned ex-girlfriends around the NBA.
With free agency set to open in just a few days, the basketball future of Kyrie Irving remains very much in question. And a new report on Monday indicates that ... Kyrie might not be all that hot of a commodity around the NBA.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the only team with real interest in acquiring Irving right now is the Los Angeles Lakers. That, however, is an extremely unlikely landing spot for Irving, because Brooklyn is not interested in any potential sign-and-trade offers from the Lakers, so Irving would essentially have to take a $30 million pay cut to play in Los Angeles.
If Irving declines his $36M player option, he would be eligible to sign with the Lakers for the $6M exception. Deadline is Wednesday to decide on option.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 27, 2022
That may come as a surprise to Irving, who has not seen eye-to-eye with the Nets on his contract status and refused to answer when asked recently if he still wants to be on the Nets.
We asked Kyrie if he still wanted to be a Brooklyn Net 👀 pic.twitter.com/QYYDajosJW
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) June 27, 2022
(Kyrie being Kyrie, he claims "there's more to the story" with that non-answer.)
Irving forced his way off the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017, then left the Celtics after promising the team that he'd stay in Boston for the long term after the 2019 season. He teamed up with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn -- after making those plans in public view, then denying that meeting while wagging a finger at media members asking about that meeting, only for Durant to later confirm that meeting -- with dreams of bringing championships to the Nets. Instead, Irving's tenure in Brooklyn has been turbulent, and it appears to be ending as poorly as his previous two NBA stops.
When asked about Celtics fans still being upset with him this past March, Irving likened them all to "the scorned girlfriend" who "wants an explanation why I left, but still hoping for a text back."
After that, the Nets were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by Boston, with Irving averaging just 15 points per game over the final three losses, shooting 37.2 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from 3-point range. Now, he seemingly wants out of Brooklyn. He's just waiting for a text back.