Yahoo Sports senior NBA reporter Vincent Goodwill reacts to the latest trade request in Brooklyn – which this time features its point guard asking out just days after reportedly seeking a long-term extension with the Nets.
Video Transcript
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VINCE GOODWILL: Now, it would seem like Kyrie Irving’s trade request six days before the deadline would line up with all the rest of his insane acts as a member of the Brooklyn Nets– you know, with the staycations and refusing to take the vaccine and, you know, anybody can be the coach and all the rest of the things, including the most recent folly– insulting Jewish people with his retweet of an anti-Semitic video. But this seems to make a little bit of sense– not a whole lot– but a little bit of sense at least in the manner of a ban that he created. The Brooklyn Nets do not want to resign him to a four-or-five-year deal because he gave you six weeks of good behavior. Good for them
Kyrie looks at the writing on the wall and says, I want to secure my future. Maybe that’s Dallas? Maybe that’s the Lakers? Sub Maybe that’s the Phoenix Suns? Whoever wants to sign up for the Kyrie Irving experience, he probably wants to get there sooner rather than later. Good luck with that. But if you’re the Brooklyn Nets and you don’t get a reasonable return on Kyrie Irving, which I don’t know how any team could give you something of reasonable value given his on-off performances of actually not showing up and not knowing what you’re going to get from him and the headaches that come with him. Let’s take that to the side. If that happens, shouldn’t the Brooklyn Nets go full-scale rebuild and trade Kevin Durant?
Yes, we’ve gone through this before. KD requested a trade over the summer, and the Nets held firm. But that was because, in large part, they thought they had something in Ben Simmons. Ben Simmons has shown to be not the player that even he was in Philadelphia when he had the big warts in his game. Now that that has figured itself out and Kyrie is on the way out– if you’re listening for the Brooklyn Nets– shouldn’t you be listening on offers for Kevin Durant? That would help actually jumpstart a rebuild.
Kevin Durant is still the MVP player with plenty of value, maybe other teams were not sure that he was going to have after last year’s MCL injury and the way that the Nets flamed out in the first round of the playoffs. He still looks like he’s in the conversation for Best player in the world. And you know what you’re getting from Kyrie Irving. You’re getting anarchy. You know what you’re getting from Kevin Durant that’s excellence. If you’re calling the Brooklyn Nets and saying, hey, what would it take for Kyrie Irving? How about you say, what would it take for Kevin Durant?
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