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Kyrie Irving is expected to stay with the Brooklyn Nets after picking up his $36.9 million player option for next season. Irving is still eligible to sign an extension, but his relationship with the team might not be at its best at the moment. If you ask NBA legend George Gervin, Irving deserves a max deal, though.
"The Iceman" was a guest on the recent episode of "Jalen & Jacoby" on ESPN. He discussed a variety of topics around the league with Jalen Rose and David Jacoby. One of the talking points was about Irving, who Gervin believes is one of the greatest players of all time.
"Yeah, I give him a long-term deal," Gervin said. "Kyrie can just flat out play. He's a franchise player to me. He knows how to win; he hits big shots, make big plays down the stretch. For me, now that's me, I'm not the Nets owner, Kyrie, I give you a long extension. For me, being a top 50, he's one of the best to ever do it, in my opinion."
Irving was eligible to sign a max extension worth $240 million for five years. However, the Nets were reluctant to do so, as Irving has missed a lot of games during his time in Brooklyn. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the two parties were very close to agreeing an extension.
Charania noted that there were multiple proposals from the Nets. One proposal would give Irving a two-year max deal with incentives depending on how many games he plays. Another was a four-year max contract but with just two guaranteed seasons.
Irving is one of the best players in the NBA when he's on the court. The problem with him is that he misses a lot of time due to injuries and personal reasons. He has played in just 103 regular-season games since signing with the Nets in 2019.
What's next for Kyrie Irving and Brooklyn Nets?
When Kyrie Irving decided to opt in to his player option next season, the Brooklyn Nets knew they had the upper hand. According to Kevin Pelton of ESPN, Irving is no longer eligible for a sign-and-trade deal. However, the Nets can still trade him next season rather than lose him for free next summer.
The Nets expect Irving to play for them next season. They still have Kevin Durant on the roster, as well as Ben Simmons. The only problem for Brooklyn is how they'll reconstruct their roster next season. Bruce Brown is an unrestricted free agent and earned a nice payday.
Meanwhile, all four of their centers are free agents. Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge are all unrestricted, while Nic Claxton is restricted. Claxton has the most upside, but Drummond averaged 11.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 24 games.
The Nets' options are limited, as they are near the luxury tax cap. Unless owner Joe Tsai wants to pay the luxury tax, general manager Sean Marks has a tough task ahead.
