Kyrie Irving said he “doesn’t plan on going anywhere next season. He wants to be back with the Brooklyn Nets.
In his end-of-season press conference, Brooklyn GM Sean Marks talked about re-establishing the Nets’ grinding, focused culture that was in place a few years ago. Marks said, “We need people here that want to be here. They’re selfless that want to be part of something bigger than themselves.”
Is that Kyrie Irving? Do the Nets want to pay him four years, $190 million — a max four-year contract — to find out?
Irving has a $36.9 million player option for next season. Marks said he has not spoken with Irving and his representatives about whether Irving would pick that up. Also not discussed is whether the Nets offer a contract extension off that deal or if he becomes a free agent and they try to re-sign him.
Sean Marks says he hasn’t discussed a long-term extension with Kyrie Irving yet, and that Kyrie has to decide on his player option as well: “I think that’s been something we’ve been discussing and that’s something we’ll debrief on.”
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) May 11, 2022
While he didn’t talk about Irving directly, Marks was pointed in his end-of-season comments Wednesday, talking about returning to a focused, committed franchise culture that seemed lost the last couple of years.
Sean Marks: "We need people here that want to be here. they're selfless that want to be part of something bigger than themselves. and there's an objective and there's a goal at stake here. And in order to do that, we're gonna need availability from everybody." #Nets
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) May 11, 2022
When asked if he has to consider a players motivations before signing him to a long term deal, Sean Marks replies:
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) May 11, 2022
“Do they want to be part of this? Are they motivated by something that's not good for the whole team? Those are questions we have to ask.”
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The Nets will bring back Irving next season because Kevin Durant wants it. The only questions are how many years, how much money (it will be the max), and how the deal is structured. His five-year max for a new contract is $245 million, but the Nets would prefer a four-year deal that lines up with Durant’s recent extension.
But Marks is making it clear he needs more from Irving, who missed the first three months of last season because the All-Star point guard refused to be vaccinated and has taken time off in the middle of the season before. The Nets got to the postseason this year having not spent 82 games building up good habits, while the Celtics had, and the result was a Boston sweep. Brooklyn needs a better commitment to the regular season to maximize their talent in the games that matter.
Sean Marks says there’s been too much focus on distractions off the court and that the Nets want to get back to the culture that got them here.
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) May 11, 2022
Marks talked about a couple of other things of interest.
He said that an MRI before Game 4 showed the need for Simmons to have surgery.
Sean Marks said Ben Simmons had a follow-up MRI after the back soreness returned before Game 4 and it revealed the herniation had expanded. At that point, the only option was surgery.
— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) May 11, 2022
Also, Marks said that once Harden made up his mind he wanted out of Brooklyn, there was no real choice for the front office but to trade him.
Sean Marks on James Harden and if something could have been done to change his mind, "It's a two-way street...when players' minds are made up it's almost foolish to try and change their mind."
— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) May 11, 2022
