Kyrie Irving appears to be making clear that he will play it out for the Brooklyn Nets or he won’t play at all.
FS1’s Nick Wright reported on Wednesday that there are a handful of Irving trades out there that potentially make sense for the Nets. However, Irving’s agents have made it known that the 29-year-old will simply retire from the league if Brooklyn decides to trade him.
Irving, a seven-time All-Star who has already won an NBA championship, will be entering his third season with the Nets. His contract runs through 2023 and has $71.7 million remaining on it.
Brooklyn already has an elite all-around scorer in Kevin Durant and an elite playmaking guard in James Harden. That would theoretically make Irving at least somewhat expendable if the right trade offer were to arise. But Irving has already indicated that he is willing to retire early. As such, his threat to call it quits if the Nets ever trade him may not be an entirely empty one.
