News came out today that Irving and the Nets could not reach an agreement on contract renewal and may enter the trade market. This is unexpected at first glance, but it makes sense if you think about it carefully. What is reasonable is that the Nets' attitude towards Irving is in line with what an NBA team should do. We just didn't expect that the Nets would be so decisive. There are two curious things next. One is Irving's next destination, and the other is Durant's attitude. This offseason may be far more exciting than we thought.
Although there is no definite news, Shams Charania, who broke the news, said that the disagreement between Irving and the Nets lies in the length of the new contract. When the Nets' 2021-22 season came to an early end in the first round, Irving publicly expressed his willingness to stay with the team, which made it logical for him to get a five-year maximum salary contract; but the Nets are now only willing to give 2 to 3 years. The offer in 2016 (which may even have many additional terms) was beyond Irving's expectations.
No wonder Irving "feels good about himself." After all, before and after he made trouble, the Nets always gave the outside world a "peaceful" feeling. The team's top brass is not known for being tough.
During the 2019 offseason, there were two teams in the East and West divisions with eye-popping performance. They won the favor of superstars and instantly emerged as the favorites to compete for the championship. The Clippers in the West division and the Nets in the East division. There have been rumors that Durant favored the Knicks, but was persuaded by his friend Irving to join the Nets. Whether it's true or not, the Nets' top brass was extremely grateful at the time and even promised to let Irving participate in team management. The Nets' attitude in front of Irving seemed to be determined at that moment.
joined the team in his first season, while Durant was recuperating from an injury and Irving only played 20 games and took a leave of absence. Because they knew that this season was just a transitional season, the Nets made no comment.
In the 2020-21 season, Durant returned with full blood, but Irving suddenly disappeared mid-season. The Nets did not do anything to Irving, but only instigated a trade to introduce Harden. While adding insurance, it also made the Nets' championship goal clearer, hoping to make Irving more fully committed.
This season, Irving has gone too far since last year's offseason, but the Nets' response has been to constantly compromise, from initially banning him completely, to allowing him to become a "part-time player", and finally fully lifting the ban. Irving was not seen. Make the slightest concession. During this period, there were also two demonstrations by Irving fans and an incident where they stormed the Nets Arena. From the outside, it seemed to have given the Nets executives a strong impression that "Irving cannot be messed with."
Therefore, when the historically "peaceful" Nets suddenly become tough on contract renewal negotiations, Irving will be surprised, as will the industry and fans. This season, someone asked about Irving's contract renewal prospects. At that time, some US media put on an expression of "I can just live with it, how can I leave", jokingly saying that the Nets will offer Irving a five-year contract as soon as possible. Maximum salary, and then trembling while praying that Irving will stop messing up.
Seeing what happened between Irving and the Nets, Durant immediately came to the minds of fans, and everyone was eager to know what he thought of it.
The 2022 offseason is destined to be unfriendly to Durant. He has just been pushed to the forefront because of the Warriors' championship. He has no time to take a breath and will face the possibility of losing his friends. Losing Harden at the beginning of the year and Irving in the middle of the year were a huge blow to Durant. Harden's departure implies that he has lost confidence in the Nets' championship prospects. Irving's actions now seem to be responding to Harden, "You are right." And when Durant countered Barkley's "bus driver remarks" today, he also Confidently stated that "it is just a matter of time (referring to leading the team to win the championship as the core)."
Irving's strength is obvious to all. If the Nets are forced to break up with him, they may withdraw from the championship. If so, isn't Durant getting further and further away from his goal of "proving himself to the Warriors and James"?
The Nets are currently taking the initiative. If Irving breaks out of his contract and his contract renewal negotiations encounter setbacks, his team will naturally go to the market to explore its transaction value. The Nets have every reason not to be afraid of this.After all, Irving's love of making trouble is intolerable in the eyes of all NBA team executives. Even if they covet Irving's ability, there are still very few teams that will take the risk to offer Irving a big contract; even if there are, they may not be the team that Irving likes.
Of course, among the three rumored teams that may accept Irving, the Knicks should arouse the Nets' vigilance. After all, the industry is optimistic that they can free up salary space to sign Irving. But three years ago, Irving ignored the Knicks. Today, the Knicks are no different than they were then. It is hard to imagine that Irving will change his mind. In addition, Irving attacked the Knicks several times while playing for the Nets, including once saying He said something like "As long as the Nets are there, the Knicks can't become the boss of New York." Wouldn't it be embarrassing if I joined now? Moreover, if Durant stays with the Nets, wouldn't Irving be deliberately going against his friends by going to the Knicks?
If Irving chooses to exercise the player option, then we have to mention the Lakers and Clippers who are rumored to be able to accept Irving. But these two teams each have their own problems.
The Lakers and Clippers suffer from limited salary space. The prerequisite for accepting Irving is that Irving must implement player options and then consider signing. In contrast, the Lakers are more likely to accept Irving. After all, Zhan Ou has an old friend, but it is difficult for the Lakers to come up with valuable chips (some people have suggested that Anthony Davis and Irving be exchanged, which may be beyond the range of the Lakers) ; The Clippers can use their chips, but Irving is "dispensable" to them. The Clippers believe that once the Cachos return with full blood, the current lineup will be enough to win the championship. If Irving is introduced at this time, firstly, he is worried that Irving will cause trouble and damage the atmosphere of the team, and secondly, he will have to dismantle the existing lineup, which is not cost-effective.
It is still possible for Irving to stay with the Nets. In fact, this is what the Nets would like to see. After all, the combination of Durant and Irving is still a guarantee for the championship. But this means that Irving has to accept the short-term contract with additional terms offered by the Nets.
Actually, even so, Irving is not too wronged. The Nets offered a short-term contract just to "see the consequences," and how they deal with Irving's contract will determine whether they can take the initiative when dealing with Ben Simmons' contract in the next step, and there is no room for further concessions.
In addition, even if the Nets set additional terms in the contract, they are only the minimum requirements for an NBA player's attendance and professionalism, which is not excessive; even if Irving has a correct attitude, it is not ruled out that the Nets will offer him as soon as possible. Long term appointment. But now, the confidence the Nets are missing cannot be restored with money. (Sit-ups/Maomao)
