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Brooklyn Nets GM and alternate owner Sean Marks offered some perspective on the organization's plans with regards to their superstar Kyrie Irving in the exit interviews on Wednesday.
Given the odd state of affairs after the Nets were eliminated in the first-round of the 2022 playoffs, there has been a lot of mystery regarding Irving's future with the Nets.
Addressing the media regarding their next step, Sean Marks had this to say when asked about the franchise's commitment to Kyrie Irving in the long-term:
"Look, that's something we've been discussing and will continue to debrief on and discuss throughout this offseason. And honestly, it's not just Kyrie. You bring in Kyrie up, but we have decisions to make on a variety of different free agents through our roster.
"We haven't had any of those discussions yet, so it would be unfair of me to comment on how it looks with us and Kyrie. Because, to be quite frank, he has some decisions to make on his own.
"He has to look at what he's going to do with his player-option so forth like that. But we know what we're looking for.
"We're looking for guys that want to come in here and be a part of something bigger than themselves. Play selfless, play team basketball and be available. And that goes not only for Kyrie, but for everybody here."
Sean Marks offered a rather diplomatic take on the entire situation. However, the tail end of his response may be interpreted as an indirect shot towards Kyrie Irving for his unavailability for the majority of the season.
As things stand, the Nets superstar guard has a huge decision on his table. With a a player-option for next season, which sees him earning close to $37 million for the 2022-23 season, Irving could either opt to return to the Brooklyn Nets or opt to test free agency.
Is Kyrie Irving better off returning to the Brooklyn Nets?
Kyrie Irving is one of the most gifted basketball players in the modern era. With a penchant for creating highlight reels, Irving is instant box-office. However, this season has seen a combination of highs and lows from the Nets superstar.
Irving signed a four-year contract with the Brooklyn Nets in the 2019-20 season. In that span of time, the 30-year-old has only played in 103 regular-season games.
These numbers tend to get exacerbated due to his output this season. Irving was available for 29 regular-season games. Given the drama pertaining to his unwillingness to get vaccinated, Irving missed a large part of the season.
His lack of availability greatly affected the Nets' playoff seeding, which in turn added to their postseason woes. Overall, Irving's trade value is not great.
In this regard, the 30-year-old is best served picking up his player-option and playing out the 2022-23 season as a means of redeeming himself alongside Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons.
Having mentioned his desire to stay with the side in an earlier press conference as well, Brooklyn may just commit to Irving in the long run.
Guess the Lakers players!
