On Friday we got some earth-shattering news. Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets has requested a trade. Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the bombshell:Breaking: Brooklyn Nets All-Star Kyrie Irving has requested a trade, league sources tell The franchise has been informed that Irving prefers to move on ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline or will leave in free agency in July. Shams Charania February 3, 2023And in a follow-up piece, Shams, reporting with The Athletic's Alex Schiffer, notes that:"-The franchise has been informed that Irving prefers to leave Brooklyn ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline or he will leave via free agency in July.-The Nets recently offered Irving an extension with guarantee stipulations, according to league sources, an offer that was declined.-League sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations who have been granted anonymity so that they could speak freely say that the extension offer was not well received and that there have been significant differences that have emerged between the Nets and Irving."The Los Angeles Lakers Philadelphia Store, Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks have emerged as potential suitors for Irving, per league sources."ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski was next on the scene to tweet out that contending teams are salivating at the thought that KD may be revisiting his July trade request:Among rival teams, there's far more interest in inquiring on Kevin Durant's reaction to Kyrie Irving's trade request and how that may impact KD's future with the Nets. Adrian Wojnarowski February 3, 2023And in his report, Woj notes that:"Irving, who's in the final year of a deal that pays him $36.9 million, has been seeking in the neighborhood of a four-year, $198.5 million maximum extension available to him until June 30, sources said. If Irving is traded Philadelphia 76ers Womens Jerseys, he is eligible to sign a two-year $78.6 million extension with his new team until June 30.No teams are privately expressing a desire to make that investment into Irving, especially after the turbulence of an eight-game suspension for him failing to initially rebuke an antisemitic film shared to his social media platform."So if Irving might wind up going down the same road that James Harden went down a year ago, hinting he won't re-sign longterm, forcing Joe Tsai and Sean Marks to make a difficult decision at the trade deadline, then it makes sense teams might wonder about KD, Kyrie and other Nets as well.Joel Embiid has hinted as to how he feels with his most recent "like" on Twitter: "Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor, " is the quote on Daryl Morey's Twitter. And time marches on. For 22-year-old Tyrese Maxey that's a good thing for Philadelphia. For Joel Embiid that may or may not be a good thing. Most players' primes begin around 26 years old and last until they're 30 or so. Players taking better care of their bodies these days certainly lengthens peak years. Durant has had a historic bounce-back from his ruptured Achilles tendon. Hakeem Olajuwon was in his age 31 and 32 seasons when he won a pair of world championships and back-to-back NBA Finals MVPs. Embiid may have another handful of years to be an All-Star or even MVP candidate. But you never know.For James Harden and P.J. Tucker this time thing is less good. So how aggressive at this NBA Trade Deadline do the Sixers want to get? How much risk do they want to take on? Do they feel they have a three-to-four year title window? Or is it more like one or two years? What if Harden departs in free agency leaving them with almost no cap-space to replace him? Could Irving, the least reliable player in the entire league, somehow become an "insurance policy" they'd at least have a shot at one co-star for Joel if they're legitimately, secretly terrified about Harden leaving? Or would Irving simply force Harden to flee? Could they keep both long-term plus Maxey and pursue mult
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Opinion: Sixers need to call the Nets about Kevin Durant, Seth Curry and yep, even Kyrie Irving
Opinion: Sixers need to call the Nets about Kevin Durant, Seth Curry and yep, even Kyrie Irving