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The Brooklyn Nets have their eyes on the NBA title, but the Kyrie Irving offseason drama continues to be the biggest hurdle they need to overcome.
One solution that's been floated around would be for the Nets to trade Irving for Ben Simmons, the other All-Star making headlines on an Eastern Conference contender.
But according to NBA insider Marc Stein in his latest Substack post, it's very unlikely to happen. That's mainly because his sources believe that the Irving could very well could retire should the Nets decide to ship him out of town.
“There is no indication yet- that the 76ers have an interest in exploring the Simmons-for Kyrie Irving trade being thrown around as the natural “solution” for two Atlantic Division teams facing major headaches to start the season. Reason being: It is not at all the obvious solution it would appear to be on paper.”
“There is a belief in some corners of the league that Irving would retire, or at least deeply ponder it, if Brooklyn suddenly traded him. The 29-year-old is also a challenge to manage in the best of times and can become a free agent as soon as next summer if he declines his lucrative player option for the 2022-23 season. Forget how tantalizing it is to imagine Brooklyn adding Simmons' playmaking and defense. Does any of this sound like a palatable solution for Philly?”
While these are all just rumors at this point, even just the threat of that happening would probably be enough to turn off Sixers GM Daryl Morey. After dealing with a huge headache amid the Ben Simmons trade saga, swapping him for the most mercurial superstar in the NBA isn't exactly enticing.
This isn't the first time that a Kyrie Irving retirement rumor has surfaced. The Nets star had previously clapped back at FS1 analyst Nick Wright over his reports that this was the case.
Some NBA news:
There are a handful of Kyrie trades that potentially make sense for the Nets, Kyrie’s agents have made it known that Kyrie would simply *retire from the NBA* if Brooklyn were to trade him.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) September 15, 2021
Kyrie, if you’re saying you didn’t say you’d retire if you were traded, then your beef is with your representation, not with me, because you and I both know that’s what they’ve told people.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) September 16, 2021
The Nets have all the talent they need to make a strong run at the title. But first they need to sort out these matters off the court.
