“This is the man’s livelihood, this is much bigger than me” - Kevin Durant says not involved in Kyrie Irving’s decision-making, insists friendship will remain intact
Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets were unable to reach an agreement on the guard's future with the franchise. Irving is now possibly on his way out with the LA Lakers, New York Knicks and LA Clippers showing interest.
Reports by Shams Charania suggested that Kevin Durant is reconsidering his future with the Nets in light of Irving’s potential exit.
.@KDTrey5 and @bansky linked up for a brand new episode of #TheETCs:
🎙 His NBA Draft night
🎙 Nets' offseason
🎙 Warriors' title
🎙 Drake's new album
+ much more. 🎧⤵️
boardroom.tv/watch/kevin-du…
Durant spoke about his involvement in Kyrie Irving’s decision on his podcast, Durant said he had no say in the matter. Durant believes that free agency is one of the most important times in a player's career and decisions can't be influenced by anyone else.
"There's no involvement at all. I can't be involved," Durant said. "This is this man's livelihood. This is much bigger than me. Being a free agent is one of the most important times in your career. That can't be swayed by anybody else. I just kind of let things play out and see what happens."
The seven-time All-Star missed most of the 2021-22 season due to his refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine. As a result, the Nets excluded him from their roster as he was ineligible to play in home games and certain away games.
With the Mayor of New York lifting the vaccination mandate, Irving returned to the court and featured in 29 regular-season games. He then played in all four of their playoff games.
Could Kyrie Irving join LeBron James and the LA Lakers?
The LA Lakers are reportedly one of the parties interested in acquiring the Nets guard. The Lakers are currently going through a rebuild following the recruitment of a new coach, Darvin Ham.
ESPN Sources: If Kyrie Irving can’t reach an agreement to stay with Brooklyn, he has a list of teams he’d like them to consider on sign-and-trades, including Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Heat, Mavs and 76ers. None of those teams have cap space to sign him without Nets’ help.
The team could do with the infusion of Irving’s talent as they look to compete for the title next season. However, due to the Lakers cap situation, Irving would have to take a substantial pay cut.