Kyrie Irving stuffed the stat sheet in the games in which he was available for the Brooklyn Nets this past season – and was impressive enough offensively to earn Jalen Rose’s All-NBA vote despite appearing in just 29 games.
Irving now has the ability to test free agency this offseason if he does not opt in to his player-option year with the Nets, which would earn him $36.5 million. Irving has indicated he wants to stay in Brooklyn, but will the Nets feel comfortable offering Irving a long-term deal?
According to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, the Nets should pursue a very team-friendly deal which would add only team-option years beyond the initial season.
“There’s no way in hell you can [give Irving a long-term deal]. If you’re running a business, you cannot invest long-term with Kyrie Irving in terms of guarantees.
….. What I’m saying is this – Kyrie Irving is not good, he’s not just great, he’s spectacular. This brother, to me, is somebody you walk through the turnstiles to see. I’ve got no problem if somebody said to me right now ‘I’m giving Kyrie Irving $50 million a year.’ I don’t blink… until they tell me it’s for more than one year at a time.
I literally believe the contract should be non-guaranteed, or a better way of saying it is, a team opt-out after every single year.”