After much debate and doubt, Kyrie Irving will exercise his player option with the Brooklyn Nets for the upcoming season. Despite rumors that Irving would decline his option without a long-term deal ultimately he decided his player option was the best course of action. According to reports, the only team interested in a sign and trade for the point guard was the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Nets were not interested in acquiring Russell Westbrook. The player option is set to pay the Nets point guard $36.5 million this upcoming season.
Breaking: Without the ability to find a sign-and-trade deal, Kyrie Irving plans to exercise his $36M player option for next season and return to the Nets, sources confirm to @wojespn. pic.twitter.com/K6ASZkaHYR
— ESPN (@espn) June 27, 2022
Kyrie Irving has been in the news a lot the past year after he refused to get a COVID-19 vaccination forcing him to miss a large portion of home games last season. This among other things made the Nets hesitate to offer him a long-term deal. It seems for at least a year the two sides have come to an agreement. Had Irving left, Kevin Durant was mulling requesting a trade from the franchise.
Kyrie Irving: “Normal people keep the world going, but those who dare to be different lead us into tomorrow. I’ve made my decision to opt in. See you in the fall. A11even.” https://t.co/rpiS8YkSZI
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2022
The Brooklyn Nets were swept in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs by the Boston Celtics. Their goal of winning a championship with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving seems unlikely at the moment, but they will have at least one more season. The Irving drama seems unlikely to stop and we here at Def Pen Sports will continue to provide updates.
