Exploring possible trade destinations for Nets' Kyrie Irving

On January 15, after a 112-102 loss to the Oklahoma CityThunder, Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving was asked about KevinDurant's absence. More specifically, he was asked how thecircumstances (and the locker room) differ from last year. This iswhat he had to say.

Kyrie on why KD's absence is different thisyear: "Well I'm consistently in the lineup, that helps. We alsodon't have anyone who is halfway in in the locker room."

— Alec Sturm (@Alec_Sturm) January 16, 2023

There was a hint of irony to the response in light ofhisabsence for large portions of last season due toNew York's vaccine mandate, as well as the suspension he servedthis season due to sharing antisemitic content. Secondarily, itfelt like a clear shot at former Nets guard James Harden, whoultimately requested a trade before last year's deadline.

On January 15, Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes relayed word from Irving'sagent, expressing their desire to reach an agreement on along-term extension in Brooklyn. From the piece:

"Around Kyrie and staying with the Nets? I have reached out tothe Nets regarding this," his agent Shetellia Irving told BleacherReport. "We have had no significant conversations to date. Thedesire is to make Brooklyn home, with the right type of extension,which means the ball is in the Nets' court to communicate now iftheir desire is the same."

It would appear the desire isn't mutual. With no extensionagreed to, Irving has reportedly requested a trade from the Netsahead of the February 9 trade deadline.

Zooming out, that's three separate trade requests the Nets havereceived from stars over the past calendar year. And before digginginto potential destinations from Irving, it's worth taking the stepback to acknowledge how wild things have been in Brooklyn duringthe 7/11 Era.

(Also, the clock is going to start back ticking on Durant, no?Irving requesting the trade now is unfortunate timing. Depending onwhat they could get back, this deal could take the Nets out of thecontention conversation through absolutely no fault of Durant's.Considering Irving's role in Durant's trade request in the summer —he wants, or wanted, his guy there with him long-term — it would beunderstandable if he got antsy again.)

Irving has been tremendous on the court this season, averaging27.1 points (career-high 56.9% on 2s, 37.4% on 3s), 5.3 assists and5.1 rebounds. His blend of ball-handling, pull-up shooting andfinishing is almost unrivaled in the league — and in leaguehistory. And to Irving's credit, his buy-in on the defensive end isas consistently high as it's ever been in his career.