Nets governor Joe Tsai has fully supported team's stance against Kyrie Irving max deal

A note on Kyrie Irving and the Nets:

As of Thursday night, the Nets’ decision to take a hard line against giving Irving a max extension had the full support of team governor Joe Tsai.

I don’t know if that stance has changed in the past 24 hours. But it’s noteworthy that ownership has fully supported Brooklyn management’s decision to offer Irving less than max extension.

Reports from ESPN and The Athletic stated that Kevin Durant’s future with the Nets would be in question in Irving left the club.

Durant discussed Irving’s situation on his ETCs podcast with Eddie Gonzalez.

Gonzalez asked Durant his level of involvement in Irving’s situation with the team.

“There’s no involvement at all. I can’t be involved with – this is this man’s livelihood,” Durant said on the podcast, which included discussion of several topics that are probably of interest to fans of the Nets and Durant.

“This is much bigger than me,” Durant said of Irving’s negotiations with the Nets. “Being a free agent is one of the most important times in your career. So that can’t be swayed by anybody else. So I just do me and wait for the time.

“There’s nothing can happen right now. I don’t think he can even make a decision on opting out until the 29^th, I think. So I just kind of let things play out and see what happens. Keep the regular contact up with Ky and we’ll see what happens, man.

“It’s something that’s so much out of my control that I don’t want to get, be a part of it. You know what I mean? We’ll see what happens though.”

Durant said he and Irving will continue to have a strong friendship regardless of what happens during Irving’s negotiations with Brooklyn.

“Basketball is obviously the most important thing but I try not to let that get in the way of somebody else’s personal decision, you know what I’m saying,” Durant said. “Like I said, whatever happens, the friendship will still be there.”

Durant didn’t directly address reports stating that his own future with the Nets would be up in the air if Irving left. He signed an extension with the club prior to the 2021-22 season and is under contract for four more seasons. At the time, general manager Sean Marks believed that Irving and James Harden would also sign extensions with the club.

Neither player signed an extension. Irving then missed much of the regular season due to his decision not to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which violated New York City COVID mandates.

Harden later asked for a trade from Brooklyn and was dealt to the Sixers.

Irving, Durant and the Nets were swept by Boston in the first round of the playoffs.

The Nets have reportedly been hesitant to give Irving a long-term contract because of his lack of availability over the past three years.

Due partially to injuries and partially to personal choices, Irving has played in 103 of a possible 226 games for Brooklyn.

The idea that Nets governor Joe Tsai had been fully supportive of management’s stance in negotiations with Irving suggests that the negotiations will come down to which side blinks first.

Irving has until June 29 to decide on his player option for 2022-23.

As SNY reported, people around Irving have long seen the Knicks as a potential destination if his negotiations with the Nets go awry. I don’t know the Knicks’ level of interest in Irving if they don’t land their other free-agent options.

ESPN reported that Irving would be open to the Lakers, Clippers, Heat, Sixers, Mavericks and Knicks if things fall through with the Nets.

None of those teams currently have the cap space to sign Irving as a free agent. So they would need to engage in a sign-and-trade with Brooklyn. The Knicks have pathways to create cap space. They are believed to be doing so now to put together a competitive offer for Jalen Brunson.