At his season-ending press conference on Wednesday, Nets general manager Sean Marks was noncommittal when asked about Kyrie Irving‘s future with the team, according to a report from The Athletic.
Marks noted that he predicted the Nets would come to terms on extensions for Irving and James Harden prior to the season, and neither came to pass, so he was reticent to make that mistake again.
“That’s something that we’ve been discussing and we’ll continue to debrief on and discuss throughout this offseason … we haven’t had any of those discussions yet,” Marks said. “We’re looking for guys that want to come in here and be part of something bigger than themselves, play selfless, play team basketball, and be available. That goes not only for Kyrie but everybody here.”
Irving holds a player option for $36.9M next season, and if he opts out, he’d become an unrestricted free agent and eligible for a five-year, $247.7M maximum contract if he re-signs with Brooklyn. He’s also eligible for a four-year, $185M extension if he picks up the option.
Irving missed most of the season due to his vaccination status, and it clearly had a negative impact on the team, with Marks saying “it’s obvious” that Irving’s absence played a factor in how the season played out. Brooklyn entered the season as championship favorites but finished with just a 44-38 record and needed to win a game in the play-in tournament to advance as the No. 7 seed in the East before being swept in the first round of the playoffs by Boston.
Brooklyn has up to 10 players who could become free agents this summer, so both the players and the organization have important decisions to make.
“What drives them? Do they want to be part of this? Are they motivated by something that maybe is not good for the whole team?” Marks said, per Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press. “So those are questions we’re going to have to ask ourselves and also the players that we want to bring back in here.”
Here’s more from Marks’ press conference:
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