“He wouldn’t have to play more than 60 games and would not have to play any back-to-backs" - Ric Bucher on former NBA champion’s demands from the Brooklyn Nets
Kyrie Irving's tenure with the Brooklyn Nets has been nothing short of tumultuous and analyst Ric Bucher has weighed in on the conditions the star put forward to the franchise for an extension.
Irving to reach an agreement with Brooklyn over a long-term extension to his contract following which he opted into the final year of his contract on June 27.
Fox Sports' Ric Bucher, on his podcast, "On The Ball," spoke about why the Nets and Irving's talks over a max extension fell through.
"Owner Joe Tsai has already shown that he's willing to play hard-ball with Kyrie by taking a max extension off the table almost immediately. Now, part of that maybe Kyrie's doing."
"I’m told he wanted his new contract to guarantee he wouldn’t have to play more than 60 games in a season and would not have to play any back-to-backs, which he apparently referred to as inhumane. It certainly sounds like Kyrie. "
Shortly after Irving opted in, Kevin Durant asked to leave the Brooklyn Nets.
Are Kyrie Irving's demands from the Brooklyn Nets justified?
Irving's demands of not wanting to play more than 60 games doesn't come as a surprise. The last time Irving crossed that threshold was four years ago. (Irving played 67 games in the 2018-19 season)
His unwillingness to get vaccinated and the New York vaccine mandate probably cost the Brooklyn Nets the 2021-22 season, as the unavailability of the trio of Durant, Harden and Irving hampered the franchise.
Harden played half a season with the Nets and then departed. During his introduction in Philly, Harden stated that Philadelphia was where he originally wanted to be but talks fell through and he landed in Brooklyn.
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Many believe that although there is truth to what Harden said, Irving's situation may have played a big role in his decision to play with the 76ers.
Demanding contract-protections to stave off playing in back-to-back games is to be looked at with suspicion. Any team willing to give Irving these provisions has to put a limit on the number of games he plays.
Having players on max contracts who have the power to decide the number of games they play is bad business.
So while Irving may believe that a contract without these provisions is inhumane, the large majority of NBA players, including his teammate Kevin Durant, have logged in 70+ games for a substantial part of their career.