We’re just a few short weeks away from one of the biggest free agent classes in recent memory, and teams around the league are already busy jockeying to make their play at one or more of the superstars who are set to hit the market on June 30.
The Brooklyn Nets threw their hat in the ring in a major way this week when they traded Allen Crabbe and a pair of first-round picks to the Atlanta Hawks for Taurean Prince, which if they end up renouncing their rights to D’Angelo Russell, would clear enough cap space to be able to sign two max-level players this summer.
We now know that Kyrie Irving is one of those targets, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting that Irving is “serious” about potentially signing with the Nets this summer. That would be a major coup against the Knicks, who could also lose out on their primary target, Kevin Durant, if Irving is able to woo him to Brooklyn as well, as he’s expected to do.
Woj took that a step further on Friday during an appearance on Get Up, when he reported that Brooklyn hopes Irving will be the man who puts them over the hump in terms of landing Durant.
“Brooklyn will hope that Kyrie Irving would be the Pied Piper to go recruit another star free agent, namely Kevin Durant, to join him in Brooklyn, but it takes a level of confidence three weeks out from free agency to give up two first-round picks to clear the cap space you need to have two max slots,” Wojnarowski said. “But Kyrie Irving is that target, and there is no question, I’m told, that Kyrie Irving has a serious interest in the Brooklyn Nets in free agency.”
Durant, who has not yet played in the NBA Finals against Toronto, recently ruled out of Game 4 on Friday as well. The talk of his departure has been magnified in the face of his absence from the court in these playoffs, and it doesn’t look to let up anytime soon. In the meantime, his team faces an uphill battle against the Raptors in Game 4 if they want to avoid a 3-1 series deficit.
