Marks’ Gauntlet Notwithstanding, Nets Seem Stuck With Irving, For Better Or Worse
Nets fans too often can’t trust the words emanating from General Manager Sean Marks’ mouth. Such misinformation can be deemed necessary to protect the organization. Other times, however, like when he said at the beginning of this past season that he would “not permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability” in announcing the ban of unvaccinated superstar guard Kyrie Irving, his high-minded principles turn out to be quite malleable.
So for those who took Marks’ statements at Wednesday’s season-ending press conference as an indication that the organization is preparing to move on from Irving, please understand that it really isn’t a viable option. It’s just more smoke.
Sixteen days after championship-hyped Brooklyn was bounced from the NBA playoffs in an ignominious four-game sweep by Boston, Marks mused that he’s now looking for players for next year’s roster who “want to be something bigger than themselves, play team basketball, and be available.” Such carefully crafted words can easily be interpreted as a shot at Irving, who sent Brooklyn’s season sideways before it began when he disclosed his anti-vaxx stance. It was just the latest in a litany of odd stumbling blocks that have pockmarked Irving’s otherwise Hall of Fame-bound career.
Unfortunately, for better or worse, the Nets have hitched their wagon to a train that is known to derail. And in order to hop off, they’d have to blow it all up.
Irving and his desire to play close to his New Jersey roots were what convinced his friend Kevin Durant, one of the best players on the planet, to choose Brooklyn when both entered free agency in the 2019 offseason. Last summer, KD signed a four-year extension that theoretically ties him to the Nets until 2026.
I used “theoretically” because we all know that superstars tend to get their way in this age of player empowerment, contract be damned, and if Durant feels he is wasting away his few remaining prime seasons on an Irving-less team that lacks the firepower to compete for a title (does anyone believe KD would be comfortable with Ben Simmons and his mental hang-ups as his primary sidekick for very long?), it wouldn’t be shocking if he demanded a trade.
And make no mistake, if the Nets allowed Irving, who could opt out of his contract this summer to re-test free agency, to walk out the door for nothing, Brooklyn is royally screwed. Even with Irving off their books, the Nets would still be over the estimated 2022-23 salary cap of $122 million, as they have about $121.1 million committed to at most eight players (plus waived guard Jevon Carter). How could Brooklyn then possibly replace the offensive dynamism Irving brings to the table with a mid-level exception and minimum contracts?
That is, when Irving plays. And there’s the rub. In each of his three seasons in Brooklyn, Irving has found excuses (other than legitimate injuries) to not show up for work. This time it was Irving’s illogical vaccine obstinance that made him ineligible for games in cities with vaccine mandates, including NYC, until such restrictions were lifted in March. Last season, Irving went AWOL for two weeks, reportedly over his distress over January 6 and police brutality. Who knows what future geopolitical events will distract him from his job?
Irving’s peccadillos make it impossible for Marks to get fair value in a trade, so he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place this offseason.
Kristian Winfield of The Daily News laid out why he is hoping Irving opts out this summer so Marks can present him with an incentive-laden new contract, even if it’s limited to 15% of Irving’s compensation. Based on his 2021-22 availability, any incentive over 30 games played would be deemed “unlikely” under the league’s collective bargaining agreement. The Nets could set aside multiple benchmarks for whatever term they offer. My guess is that Irving will attempt to mirror KD’s deal, but he may have to settle for a one-plus-one (player option in Year 2).
Irving’s alternative is to find a team that has salary cap room to take in his max contract asking price as a free agent. However, those clubs are far away from contention, even if they added Irving. More likely: He could simply exercise his option to play for $36.5 million next season and then seek an extension, leaving the Nets with the status quo for 2022-23 despite Marks’ stated intentions.
Marks admitted that the Nets’ vaunted team culture, which he carefully cultivated from the day he was hired in 2016 to reconstruct an absolute mess of a basketball organization, took “a step back” this season. That’s going to happen when a team evolves from a developmental project to one where the goals are the highest and you need superstars to compete at that level. The hope is that those superstars set an example for others to follow, thereby reinforcing the culture.
That didn’t happen in Brooklyn this season. Marks correctly pointed out that it wasn’t just Irving—James Harden also basically quit on the team in advance of the trade deadline to force his exit to Philadelphia alongside fellow disgruntled Net Paul Millsap.
But Harden’s disillusionment can be traced, in part, to Irving’s absence, even if he hasn’t said so on the record. I have to believe that no matter what Irving’s other teammates have said publicly, they have to know that he bears much of the responsibility for such a massive underachievement this season.
They also know that their best chance to capture that elusive ring is to have an engaged Irving in tow. Without him, they’re very expensive also-rans.
Believe me, if there was a way for the Nets to challenge for a title by jettisoning Irving, I’d be all for it. Unfortunately, they are stuck: It’s either run it back or return to those initial few inglorious post-Billy King years.