If Brooklyn Nets Don't Extend Kyrie Irving, They Should Trade Kevin Durant

The package deal was for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Three years later, nothing has changed. While pondering the fate of their team, the Brooklyn Nets would be wise to remember as much as possible.

Irving's spotty availability and refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine has left Brooklyn unwilling to give him a long-term extension. Maybe this is just a negotiating ploy. If the Nets are ready to close their chapter on Irving, they should also prepare for the end of the KD era.

This isn't an all-or-nothing proposition. Irving signed an extension with Brooklyn. He is under contract through the 26th season. The Nets can keep Irving.

It's possible.

superstars have the cachet to force a franchise to make a decision no matter how long it takes. There is an exclusive group of people. Building around disgruntled players is not feasible. Brooklyn does not have to listen if he wants out. It is obligated to acquiesce.

The Nets will have lost three superstars in the same year if they show Kyrie the door or let him go elsewhere. They folded the experiment of James Harden. If Kyrie is the next one to go, it will be a close race.

KD is not in Brooklyn to play for the Nets or to maximize his chances at a third NBA championship. He is in Brooklyn to play with Kyrie.

Anthony Puccio @APOOCH

It’s common knowledge that Durant is committed to playing with Kyrie Irving. Letting him walk would only open the door for KD to demand out. Marks is playing with fire if he can’t find a middle ground with Kyrie.

The Nets won't be in a position to take the everything-or-nothing view if KD is on board with the idea of playing with him. Maybe he is at that point. Things have not been easy on him after all.

The era of Nets basketball has turned from championship inevitability to a slew of what-ifs and could-have-beens. What if he doesn't get injured during the playoffs? They were bounced by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round.

What if Kyrie doesn't resist getting the vaccine this season? Is Harden still in Brooklyn? Is it still unsafe for KD to work after his left MCL injury? Is it possible for Kyrie to log significant minutes in the playoffs if he doesn't miss a lot of the season?

Is the Nets still out in the first round? Do they make a deeper push in the playoffs? Is it possible that they are still playing in the conference finals, rather than considering the future of a star who undermined not just a single season but potentially the organization's entire title window?

If he cares only about the basketball of it all, he could reconsider tethering himself to Kyrie, even if he misses a lot of opportunities.

Nate Jones @JonesOnTheNBA

Kyrie fans be blind to the antics, but it seems his top partner and his current team are both tired of it. Incredible talent, but has been one of the flakiest players of my lifetime. Post-Cavs, there’s always been something. What do you think he does if Nets don’t offer big deal?

Rich Kleiman, KD's manager, said during a recent appearance on Hot 97 that he understands how confusing the constant conversation is. We all know that he is a skilled basketball player. We are trying to win a championship. When the dust settles, it focuses on basketball.

Kleiman's sentiment could lead to a hope that the Nets and KD can find a middle ground. They don't.

The Brooklyn front office hasn't spoken to KD since the team's first-round sweep of Boston. There are no flags in deeper shades of red.

Sean Marks and the company haven't spoken in weeks to their franchise lifeline and, frankly, co-architect. If the Nets divorced the person most responsible for his being in Brooklyn, it's not far off the mark. It might be called likely by common-sense enthusiasts.

The Nets can make KD stay if they reopen their title window. Good luck with that.

Brooklyn's flexibility would not be affected by letting Kyrie walk in free agency. The mid-level exception opens up, but not the cap space to even begin replacing him, if he wipes his salary from the ledger.

Anyone hoping that the Nets can make out like bandits in sign-and-trade scenarios should not hold their breath. The cash-starved market is less than ideal for stars looking to window shop, but Kyrie is not without leverage.

He could sign a four-year max with a cap-space team and worry about his exit later. Outside parties will not mind being used as pawns if they can grab assets for him.

That is a nuclear measure, but Kyrie has gone more nuclear in the past. After three straight Finals appearances and one championship, Cleveland requested a trade. He does not need to actually go through with it. He just needs to box the Nets into a corner to send him where he wants, most likely in exchange for a small- or medium-sized pittance that leaves the organization worse for wear.

Ben Simmons is coming off back surgery and won't have played basketball in over a year, but Will Durant is enamored by the chance to soldier on with him. Even if the Nets retrain Bruce Brown and Nic Claxton and knock the rest of free agency out of the park, that core doesn't stack up with Boston, Miami or Milwaukee.

Brooklyn is a faux contender. It is far from a given that there will be near-perfect availability from Durant. Over the past three seasons, he has missed 136 games. He doesn't want to head a solo-star operation. Why should the Nets and the man themselves be involved in this situation for a long time away from the NBA Finals? It is a waste of time for everyone involved.

The question is, if the Nets are willing to write off Kyrie as a sunk cost, are they also willing to do the same with Durant? They should be. A KD trade request feels like it's the most likely result of a Kyrie Irving exit.

What then? It is hard to imagine what a KD trade would look like.

There is no way that the Nets can get enough assets back.

KD will have a say in where he goes. Nobody is acquiring a soon-to-be-34-year-old owed $194.2 million over the next four seasons without his approval. The teams that will appeal to him will not be the ones that have a lot of trade chips or lottery picks.

Boston and Phoenix are the two teams most likely to win over KD and send Brooklyn a building-block centerpiece. Golden State is also thanks to Jonathan Kuminga. Even their most aggressive offers do little to reload the Nets.

This all doesn't say anything about a rebuild or animpromptu remake of Brooklyn's draft obligations. After this year, the Nets will be controlled by the Houston Rockets, with ownership swaps in 2024 and 2026. Brooklyn forks over top-shelf selections if they pivot away from Kyrie and KD.

The Nets should cave and extend Kyrie because of that risk. Their stance is oddly timed.

Alec Sturm @Alec_Sturm

I still think both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will be Nets next year and for seasons to come. The extension discussions will be interesting, though. Is Kyrie willing to take a deal where part of his salary is correlated to games played?

The front office gave control of their organization to the stars when they paid DeAndre Jordan, Kenny Atkinson, and Steve Nash, and again when they let them go.

The time is not right for the Nets to grow. The culture-by-committee is no more. Their new culture is called Superstars. It is not right or wrong. It is the decision they made years ago, then again and again since, and deviating from it is not noble.

It will set them back years and cost them Kevin Durant.

NBA.com, Basketball Reference, and Stathead are the only sources of statistics. Spotrac has salary information.

Dan covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on social media and 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611