Woj: People 'expect that Kyrie Irving will return' to Nets

All signs point to Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving staying put. Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski: 'I think people do expect that Kyrie Irving will return' to Nets

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 6/23/22

Thursday is the first night of the 2022 NBA Draft and a flurry of trades could soon commence. There have been recent rumors surrounding players like Deandre Ayton of the Phoenix Suns, OG Anunoby of the Toronto Raptors and John Collins of the Atlanta Hawks, while the Detroit Pistons sent Jerami Grant to the Portland Trail Blazers for a future first-round pick on Wednesday.

One star player who, earlier this week, seemed destined to be moved was Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets. Now, multiple reports indicate that that may not be the case.

Woj: "I think people do expect that Kyrie Irving will return."
— NetsDaily (@NetsDaily) June 23, 2022

WIndhorst on "Get Up" - "As far as I can tell, as I talk to people around the league, there's no teams trying to clear space to try to make a path to give Kyrie Irving a big contract."
— NetsDaily (@NetsDaily) June 23, 2022

Irving has a June 29 deadline on his $36.9 million player option for the 2022-2023 season.

It was reported on Tuesday that the Nets preferred a "shorter-term, incentive-based" deal with the seven-time All-Star. Irving turned 30 in March and hasn't reached 55 games played in a season since the 2018-2019 campaign — his final year with the Boston Celtics.

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