Kyrie Irving reportedly requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Irving, a multi-time NBA All-Star and former NBA champion, formally requested the move and made it clear when he’d prefer to be traded as well.
“Breaking: Brooklyn Nets All-Star Kyrie Irving has requested a trade,” Charania tweeted. “The franchise has been informed that Irving prefers to move on ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline – or will leave in free agency in July.”
Breaking: Brooklyn Nets All-Star Kyrie Irving has requested a trade, league sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The franchise has been informed that Irving prefers to move on ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline – or will leave in free agency in July.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2023
This is obviously a massive update and one that can significantly alter the NBA season. The Nets sat 4th in the Eastern Conference on Friday with a record of 31-20. They are 5.5 games behind the conference-leading Boston Celtics, 3.5 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks, and 2.5 behind the Philadelphia 76ers.
Trading Kyrie would drastically change the Nets, and that’s to say nothing about what a potential trade could mean for fellow star Kevin Durant, either.
Irving has had a tumultuous time with the Nets, to say the least. He decided to not vaccinate himself against COVID-19. This led to him missing significant time, as the Nets navigated through home games and select road games without him. Then, there were several controversial incidents surrounding antisemitism. The NBA suspended Irving after that controversy.
The NBA world reacted to the stunning news on Friday afternoon.
Nets fans seeing this Kyrie Irving trade request pic.twitter.com/ha4iFVGs4x
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) February 3, 2023
Kyrie Irving on Monday:
“I wish we got a chance to play against each other but who knows what can happen down the line”
Today he requests a trade. Lakers need to get the trade done 😌 pic.twitter.com/O5hd7QDRUA
— 🌟Fake (@LALeBron23) February 3, 2023
When you trade for or sign Kyrie Irving pic.twitter.com/msTxv80oz6
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) February 3, 2023
"The Nets offered Kyrie Irving a contract extension that had some stipulations in it.. I'm told that his side was vehemently against any stipulations in an extension"@ShamsCharania dives into Kyrie Irving's trade request #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/xBVFmM1jHA
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 3, 2023
Lebron James showing Rob Pelinka the Kyrie Irving news
pic.twitter.com/AwfFeMcKMq— PonderThat! 🤔 (@PonderThat4) February 3, 2023
Omg that’s insane
It’s time @MiamiHEAT
Kyrie Irving…
— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) February 3, 2023
Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden have now all requested trades from the Brooklyn Nets in the past 13 months.
— Alec Sturm (@Alec_Sturm) February 3, 2023
The Nets' strategy to this point, as I reported earlier this week, has been to focus on playing out the season without extending Kyrie Irving's contract … believing Irving likely needs a sign-and-trade in the summer to get to another destination he likes. Kyrie's counter today: https://t.co/ZusHGodbRE
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 3, 2023
Lakers fans hearing Kyrie Irving requested a trade pic.twitter.com/PFILvMaiWy
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) February 3, 2023
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022