Kyrie Irving Shows Nets Why They Should Give him a Max Contract

Joe Tsai didn’t know what to say. Instead, he turned to emojis — a few exploding heads, a few saluting faces on Twitter — as he watched Kyrie Irving’s emphatic, one-handed, put-back dunk on Monday night.

As if it were any doubt, the Nets owner has seen what his star point guard is doing. Irving has re-established his status as one the most respected guards in basketball and could become an All-Star for the eighth consecutive year. helped lead the Nets to 12 straight victories They brought them back into title contention.

The future looks promising and could have a delayed expiration.

After all the Nets have been through with Irving — the injuries, the absences, the vaccination saga that kept him away from the team for most of last season and the ban in November amid an anti-Semitism controversy — is it crazy to envision the Nets signing up for more Kyrie Irving?

“I don’t think it’s crazy,” Bobby Marks, an insider at ESPN’s front office, spoke over the telephone Tuesday. “I think [Irving returning to the Nets is] probably more likely than not.”

In landing Irving and Kevin Durant beginning in 2019, the Nets hoped to unite two of the game’s greatest scorers on a super-team with unmatched talent. After many disappointments and setbacks, this team finally won. the dream may be finally becoming a reality.

The Nets have won 18 out of 21 games since Irving returned from his eight-game suspension on November 20. Irving has been an uncommonly reliable and prolific player, while Durant is a rare sensation. The star point guard has excelled on court. He averaged 25.9 per game while shooting 52.1 percent. Irving shot 42.3 percent beyond the arc, which is a remarkable feat.

His explosion and athleticism have returned, which may have been best displayed with the violent jam that set off the Nets’ bench and had the team’s owner tweeting.

“I’ve been working on my body for the last year and a half, two years especially recovering from that traumatic ankle injury I had during the 2021 playoffs,” Irving said Irving after scoring 27 points within 29 minutes. “I just felt like I didn’t have my feet underneath me at the end of last season, so coming into this season I definitely put an emphasis on being more on my toes and getting stronger.”

His body of 30 years might be due for a max contract. The Nets will need to decide if his sometimes mercurial mind will also be considered.

Irving signed the $36.5 million final year of his pact this season. He had few suitors and Sean Marks, Nets general manger, wasn’t willing to guarantee multiple seasons to a player who was so often unavailable.

This move was prescient when Irving shared a film that contained antisemitic elements via social media. Irving was suspended by Nets. He apologized and met self-improvement criteria. The court is where he has remained.

Irving is on the stage “a show-me, prove-it contract,” Bobby Marks is also an ex-Nets assistant general manager. “We know what happened early in the year, but he’s warranted at least for now a new contract with Brooklyn.”

If the Nets decide that they want to keep Irving in business, then the next question would be around their competition. Irving has been a long-standing link to the Lakers, as have other teams with projected salary caps, such as the Rockets and Hornets, Pistons and Pacers, Thunder and Magic.

Irving may want to see his Cavaliers friend LeBron James again in Los Angeles. James can opt out of Irving’s contract after the 2023-24 season. Irving could be offered a contract by the Lakers for multiple seasons which would potentially keep him around longer than James.

“I do still think it’s hard for a team to commit more than two seasons to him,” Bobby Marks stated that Irving is still eligible for a four year, $198 million extension but “I think the days of a four-year, $200 million player — unless it’s Brooklyn, which I don’t think it is — are long gone for him.”

What still is in reach, ESPN’s Marks believes, is max money on a year-to-year basis, with maybe a two-season guarantee. Irving might find it more rewarding to be paid by the Nets than any other team.

Durant would ask for a trade if they don’t resign Irving. Because of the limited cap space available, Irving cannot be replaced by another $35 million- or $40 million star. Joe Harris, Ben Simmons, and Durant have all taken up that space. Tsai and Sean Marks have few options.

They can only hope that Irving remains a star worthy of being around for more titles. The reversal surrounding Irving’s future prospects — there was wonder just a few months ago whether he would ever play in the NBA again — has been as abrupt as Irving’s bursts with the ball in his hands.

The Cavaliers and Celtics relied on Irving, too, until they couldn’t and he forced his way elsewhere. Irving is a fascinating character.

However, after signing a “prove-it” deal, he is starting to show it.

“I went on national TV when [Irving shared the anti-Semitic film] and said, ‘When do we get to the point of enough’s enough? When you cut ties with him?’ ” Bobby Marks. “And things have turned around remarkably for everyone.”