Before Kyrie Irving chose to pick up his player option with the Brooklyn Nets in 2022-23, the New York Knicks have been linked as a potential sign-and-trade destination for him. Of course nothing in that regard materialized, and it's because of the ‘Bockers.
According to Ian Begley of SNY TV, the Nets never saw the Knicks as serious suitors for Irving in a sign-and-trade deal. For Brooklyn, it was clear that New York's focus is on Jalen Brunson.
"The market wasn't there for Irving to get that long-term deal he had been seeking"@IanBegley on Kyrie Irving opting into his player option for the 2022-23 season: pic.twitter.com/EJ9nNhLFXR
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) June 28, 2022
Kyrie Irving was seeking a long-term deal and had hoped that a sign-and-trade would help him get that. However, due to hard-cap reasons, it was quite difficult for the interested teams to make a run for him.
With that said, he had to opt-in to his $36.5 million option with the Nets. While that doesn't mean he can't be traded, Kyrie won't get his desired contract for now and will have to renegotiate a new deal with his team before he hits free agency in 2023.
As for the Knicks, it isn't a surprise they didn't make a move for Kyrie. As Begley stated, they have their eyes set on Brunson. In fact, the franchise is said to be ready to give him $25 million to $27 million in annual salary to steal him from the Mavs.
While one of the biggest talking point of the offseason has been cleared, things are just getting started for the Knicks.
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