BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - FEBRUARY 01: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on during the first half against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on February 01, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) (Maddie Meyer, Getty Images)
Four years, $200 million.
That’s the new price of doing business in Brooklyn.
Nets star Kyrie Irving requested a trade on Friday after he and the organization failed to agree to a contract extension ahead of the upcoming Feb. 9 NBA Trade Deadline.
Irving, who the Nets opted against offering a fully-guaranteed max contract last offseason, can leave Brooklyn as an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. The Daily News reported the Nets signed Irving to a “prove it” contract when they forced him to opt into his player option or test free agency over the summer.
That trend has continued: The Nets have offered Irving a contract with “guarantee stipulations,” an offer that was “not well received,” according to The Athletic.
There’s little reason to believe the star guard is unhappy with his situation other than his current contract — and possibly his heightened workload, which even more of a risk without the security of a long-term guaranteed contract.
Irving has no assurances beyond making $36.9 million in salary this season.
With both Kevin Durant (MCL sprain) and Ben Simmons (left knee soreness) out due to injury, the star guard has played at least 38 minutes in 12 of his last 13 games. He played 31 of 36 possible minutes in the first three quarters of the blowout loss to the Celtics before head coach Jacque Vaughn emptied the bench.
Irving’s trade request comes in the middle of one of the best basketball stretches of his career. He is averaging 30.3 points through the 10 games he’s played with Durant out due to injury, including a 48-point game against the Utah Jazz and a 40-point outburst in the loss to the Detroit Pistons.
The Nets have gone 4-6 in games Irving has played with Durant out due to injury. One of those was a four-point loss to a fully healthy Philadelphia 76ers team. Another was a five-point road loss to the Phoenix Suns, who were without both Chris Paul and Devin Booker.
Irving’s trade request comes one year after James Harden requested a trade from Brooklyn, during a similar period where Durant was out due to injury.
Irving was ineligible to play at Barclays Center due to the city’s pre-existing vaccine mandate, leaving Harden to shoulder the load in home games. Similarly, Durant is out and Simmons will miss his fourth straight game with left knee soreness when the Nets play the Wizards on Saturday.
Irving is averaging 27 points, five rebounds and five assists per game. He was named an All-Star starter for the sixth time in his career and is the only All-Star starter who is not under contract next season.
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Originally published at Tribune News Service