The Brooklyn Nets 2022 NBA offseason has been a wild roller-coaster ride. After a disappointing end to the 2022 NBA playoffs, in which they got swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round, everything seemed to be falling apart in Brooklyn. Ben Simmons refused to suit up in their final game of the postseason, Kevin Durant requested a trade, and while Kyrie Irving opted into his deal, he was doing whatever he could to force his way onto the Los Angeles Lakers.
But with August coming to a close, the Nets appear to have dodged a couple of serious bullets. Simmons got offseason surgery on his injured back, Durant rescinded his trade request, and Irving appears to be focused on spending the upcoming offseason with Brooklyn. As a result, the Nets are among the top teams in the Eastern Conference yet again.
Along the way, Brooklyn revamped their bench with some under-the-radar additions in guys like Royce O’Neale and TJ Warren. It’s clearly been a successful offseason now that Durant and Irving are staying put, but would it have been better for them to deal one of their stars this offseason? Let’s look at the major move Brooklyn needed to make this offseason, but ultimately didn’t.
Nets offseason move they needed to make
Trade Kyrie Irving
The Nets are going to be a championship contender now that Durant and Irving are committed to them for the upcoming season. But that doesn’t mean they will be a contender in future seasons. And that’s precisely why it would have been in Brooklyn’s best interests to trade Irving to the Lakers when they had the chance to do so this offseason.
By now, it’s clear that Irving is a flight risk. He’s an incredibly talented player when he’s on the court, but his lack of availability over the past three seasons has become increasingly concerning. Whether it be injury, his insistence on not getting vaccinated for COVID-19, or taking time off for personal reasons, Irving has been fairly inconsistent when it comes to his availability in recent seasons.
Having Irving on their roster undoubtedly makes the Nets better next season. With him and Durant on the court together, Brooklyn has a shot to win every game they play. But add a two-way threat in Simmons to the equation, plus solid secondary players like Joe Harris and Seth Curry, and Brooklyn suddenly looks very deep.
The problem is there’s a very good chance this could be a one season championship window for Brooklyn. Irving has made it clear that he wants to join the Lakers, and that desire will extend past this offseason. Reports have claimed that when Irving hits free agency next offseason, he will sign with LA
Now Irving isn’t the most trustworthy person ever (Boston Celtics fans will tell you as much) so while this is a bit concerning, there’s still a lot of time for Irving to change his mind, which isn’t super unlikely to happen. But Brooklyn has put themselves in a spot where they risk losing Irving for next to nothing after the 2022-23 season.
Irving doesn’t have the suitors a player of his caliber would typically have because of all the off-court baggage he comes with. The Lakers were the only team that showed any true interest in trading for Irving, but their well of assets is pretty dry, and they couldn’t get Brooklyn to bite on any of their deals. That may end up being a mistake for the Nets in the future.
Los Angeles’ package for Irving probably wasn’t great, and would have involved them taking Russell Westbrook’s massive contract on, but it would have been better than nothing. And if Irving lives up to his word, he will leave Brooklyn for nothing after this season. There’s no telling what could happen this upcoming season, but it doesn’t seem like Irving and Durant’s relationships with the Nets organization are that great.
The reason trading Irving makes more sense is because holding onto him can burn you. With Durant, he’s still under contract for the next four seasons, so he really has no leverage in a trade request. Irving, on the other hand, is entering the final year of his contract. If things go poorly like they did for Brooklyn last season, they are going to get burned by Irving.
The Nets are taking a big risk by holding onto Irving, and in order to justify this decision, they are going to need to win a title this upcoming season, because you have no idea what is going to happen next offseason. Keeping Irving makes Brooklyn a better team, but for how long? The Nets had a get out of jail free card from the Lakers and they turned it down, and come this time next offseason, they may end up regretting that decision.
