Kyrie Irving reportedly has his sights set on the Brooklyn Nets. The next step: convincing his buddies to come with him.
The Boston Celtics guard, who will hit unrestricted free agency June 30, is "pressing" pending free agent Kevin Durant to join him on the Nets this summer, Bleacher Report's Ric Bucher reported Monday.
Irving also is "trying to recruit" free-agent big man DeAndre Jordan to sign with Brooklyn as well, per Bucher.
Irving reportedly has signaled to the Celtics he's leaving in free agency, with the Nets rumored to be his top destination. Like many modern NBA stars, it appears he's putting out feelers to his friends (Durant and Jordan have both played with Irving on the U.S. national team) with the goal of creating a "superteam" in Brooklyn.
In fact, Bucher reports Irving and Durant have met face-to-face twice in recent weeks: Once in the Bay Area while Durant recovered from a strained calf, and a second time in New York shortly after Durant underwent surgery on his torn Achilles tendon.
The Nets have the salary cap flexibility to free up two maximum contract slots this summer, so uniting Irving and Durant is a real (and desired) possibility for them. Jordan, who earned $22.9 million this past season, likely would need to take a pay cut if Brooklyn were to sign all three players.
The bottom line: If the Nets land both Irving and Durant in the coming weeks, they'll have the former in part to thank.
UPDATE (2:15 p.m. ET): It appears Brooklyn is well aware of Irving's interest in playing with Jordan, according to the New York Times' Marc Stein.
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