Kyrie Irving was unable to come to terms with the Brooklyn Nets on an extension, which ultimately led to his trade to the Dallas Mavericks. Irving now finds himself in a situation where he appears to have considerably more leverage considering what the Mavericks gave up to trade for him and their lack of viable paths to replace him should he leaving in free agency.
“I think it’s going to be at least four, if not the full five for $272 million,” said Tim MacMahon on The Hoop Collective Podcast.
When Irving requested a trade from the Nets, the Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns pursued him. The Clippers are off the board entirely because they’re above the apron, while the Lakers and Suns would likely need a sign-and-trade to acquire Irving at a number approaching his max.
The Nets were interested in signing Irving to max money, but wanted it to either be short-term or to have games played stipulations.