Kyrie Irving contract: Does the former NBA champion stand to earn a max contract if he leaves the Brooklyn Nets?
Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets' All-Star guard, is in the final year of his contract and will be a free agent in the 2023 off-season. Irving's tenure in Brooklyn has been up and down since signing a four-year, $141 million contract with the team in 2019. He has dealt with numerous injuries and controversies, including an eight-game suspension earlier this season for alleged antisemitism.
However, when Irving has played, he has been dominant, making it difficult to assess his potential value in free agency.
Over 125 games for Brooklyn so far, Irving is averaging 27.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He also has a very efficient 49.0/39.3/91.9 shooting split. Irving is still just 30 years old and will only be 31 by the start of 2023 free agency as well.
Steph Curry, the Golden State Warriors superstar point guard, is already 34 years old and was still dominating before suffering a shoulder injury. Given his similar play style, Irving is likely to have at least three to four more elite years in him.
Furthermore, with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, Kyrie Irving demonstrated that he can be a second option on a championship team. Simply put, Irving's upside should be sufficient to earn him a new max contract, whether through an outright signing or a sign-and-trade.
For example, Dallas simply needs to improve their overall talent level around superstar guard Luka Doncic. So they'd probably love to sign Irving to a max contract if they could get him.
The Los Angeles Lakers have long been rumored to be interested in Irving and other top available players. If they miss out on other trade targets this season, they could still pursue Irving in free agency.
There's also the possibility that a rebuilding team with cap space, such as Orlando, could sign Irving to elevate their young core.
However, given the Nets’ recent success, there’s also a very good chance they opt to just re-sign Irving to a max deal themselves. Brooklyn has won seven straight games to improve to 20-12 and fourth in the Eastern Conference. The team is finally gelling and looking like a real contender. They were also recently revealed to be the clutchest team in the NBA by multiple outlets, with a clutch record of 12-3. This comes with Irving ranking second in the league in fourth-quarter scoring at 8.3 points per game.
So if Irving doesn’t provide any more distractions and the Nets make a deep playoff run, he likely ends up staying in Brooklyn long-term.
Also read: Kyrie Irving trade: Taking a look at 3 potential teams the enigmatic guard could join if he leaves Brooklyn Nets
NBA executive says Nets likely to keep Kyrie Irving all season
As for the most recent updates regarding Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, the Nets are reportedly planning to keep him for the rest of the season. Earlier this month, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explained that the Nets just want to keep superstar forward Kevin Durant happy.
“The last thing they want is to inspire another (Kevin Durant) trade demand,” one executive reportedly told Pincus.
Kyrie Irving himself also previously said that he is now focused on winning and doesn’t want to cause any more distractions for Brooklyn this season.
“Let’s just go win ballgames, that’s really what the attitude is,” Irving said.
“No more excuses, more distractions, no more just throwing in these surprise injuries. We just want everybody to be healthy, everybody to have fun and come in and play their game,” Irving continued.
Kyrie Irving on Brooklyn's mindset amid recent success:
“Let’s just go win ballgames, that’s really what the attitude is… No more excuses, no more distractions, no more just throwing in these surprise injuries. We just want everybody to be healthy and everybody to have fun."
So it looks like both Irving and the Nets are going to be taking a wait-and-see approach regarding his future in Brooklyn.