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Sources close to both the Brooklyn Nets and Kyrie Irving believe they’re “close” to a done deal – if it’s not already done. Brooklyn’s goal is to nab Irving and pair him up with Kevin Durant, who will be sidelined for the duration of the 2019-2020 season.
“Everything I’ve heard is that it’s a done deal,” one source close to both sides said about Kyrie and the Nets.
On ESPN’s “Get Up”, Adrian Wojnarowski threw a fuel into the fire that sparked more debate among Nets nation.
“If they don’t get a second star, it will be interesting to see if Brooklyn wants to have Kyrie Irving as a solo act. That didn’t go so great in Boston last year. So we’ll see if Brooklyn is still following through on just Kyrie Irving because if they don’t take Kyrie Irving, they can just bring back D’Angelo Russell at a lower number. Younger player.”
Russell is only 23 and sources close to his camp remain consistent in their message that he would like to stay with the Nets, but his status is uncertain with the Nets going after big names.
Brian Lewis spoke to DLo who’s in Spain and he reiterated that he wants to stay a Net and that he’d like to give a go with the team he led to the playoffs last season.
He wants to stay in Brooklyn, telling The Post he hopes to be a “Net for life.”
“If we’re being completely honest, I enjoyed the team that we had this whole season,” Russell told The Post by phone from Spain. “I’m not going to say I didn’t enjoy our team and the pieces we had around.”
Lewis also writes about the debate inside the Nets about Irving vs. Russell ... and confirmed Woj’s report that the Nets are having qualms about taking on Irving without another superstar.
It’s a question that has turned into a civil war among the fan base. It also has become an internal debate the Nets are having right now.
The Post has confirmed Brooklyn might have qualms about signing the enigmatic Irving if he isn’t bringing the injured Durant with him.
Other teams had already backed off of pursuing Irving with similar concerns
Multiple Nets players, members of the staff and sources close to Kyrie’s camp have told NetsDaily they believe Irving will be Brooklyn’s point guard come October and if that’s the case, Russell is unlikely to return.
If we needed any more validation, Marc Stein and Shams Charania of The Athletic reported similar Tuesday night.
The Nets strongly believe they are the frontrunners to sign Kyrie Irving when free agency commences June 30, league sources say. That and much more en route in a SLAMMED edition of your @nytimes NBA newsletter that will be invading inboxes soon
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 19, 2019
Irving has been communicative and forthright with top Celtics officials since the season ended, with private and public signals that he will leave the organization in free agency — likely for the Brooklyn Nets, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. https://t.co/EupfcYxhsg
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 18, 2019
Some of the issue is related to math. The Nets are projected to clear $46 million in cap room which could jump to as much as $66 million of cap room if they renounce all their free agents, including Russell.
While there’s no pen to paper just yet, the belief is that Kyrie Irving will be a Brooklyn Net once free agency opens up on June 30 at 6:01 p.m. Sources say LeBron James and the Lakers are aggressively trying to recruit Kyrie to Los Angeles, but the Nets are currently the frontrunners. And the Lakers will have to make additional moves to get the cap space needed to pay him the $32.7 million he’s eligible to receive.
As Spencer Dinwiddie tweeted...
Whole lotta things just being thrown around at this point
— Spencer Dinwiddie (@SDinwiddie_25) June 20, 2019
Watch this space.
- Inside debate the Nets are having about Kyrie Irving - Brian Lewis - New York Post
- Woj: Kevin Durant ‘Soul-Searching’ Ahead of Warriors, Knicks and Nets Decision - Tyler Conway - Bleacher Report