Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) has until Wednesday to decide if he will exercise his $36.9 million player option for next season. Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Nets unwilling to meet one Kyrie Irving request

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 6/27/22

Kyrie Irving is likely looking to land a maximum contract extension from the Brooklyn Nets, but it does not sound like he is going to get it.

Irving has until Wednesday to decide if he will exercise his $36.9 million player option for next season. He is widely expected to decline it, which is why he and the Nets have been trying to work out a new contract. If Irving opts in, the Nets can sign him to a four-year, $196 million extension. If he declines the option, he would be eligible for a five-year, $248 million deal.

According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, neither max offer is coming. Lowe said on “Get Up” Monday morning that the Nets have taken a stand.

"The max deal, everything I've heard, is not coming [for Kyrie Irving]. The Nets are not going to be held hostage by the threat of Kyrie & then Kevin Durant following them out the door."

— Zach Lowe#NBATwitter #NetsLevel pic.twitter.com/eviXHNQkiC

— ’ (@_Talkin_NBA) June 27, 2022

“They appear ready to actually take some kind of stand here,” Lowe said. “That doesn’t mean that there’s not going to be a fair compromise offer somewhere, wherever that lands. We’ll see how that discussion evolves.”

This is not the first report we have heard indicating the Nets do not want to sign Irving to a long-term deal. They are understandably concerned about his injury history and all the off-court drama that surrounds him.

One theory is that Kevin Durant is playing hardball with the Nets in an attempt to help his friend Irving land a max deal. Unless something changes, that seems unlikely to work.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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