The Brooklyn Nets thought they had it made back in January 2021 when they added James Harden to their star duo of Kevin Durant & Kyrie Irving. However, as we enter the 2022 off-season, Kevin Durant may be the only one of those three left come training camp. 

According to the Athletic, talks between Irving and the Nets have become stagnant, with Irving having a deadline of June 29th to opt in to his $36.9 million player option for the 2022/23 season. 

Brooklyn appears to be reluctant to offer Irving a long-term deal due to him playing just 29 games last season, thanks to his refusal to get the Covid-19 vaccine and the fact that he has played just 103/216 regular season games in his three years with the team. This opens the door for Kyrie to explore free agency.

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Potential landing spots

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• Los Angeles Lakers- 

Kyrie has spoken previously of his regret in leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James back in 2017, so he would like the chance to reunite in LA. 

For the Lakers to facilitate a trade like this they would need Irving to opt into his player option to work a sign and trade, with the Lakers needing to give up between $29 million and $46 million in salary. 

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• New York Knicks-

The Knicks were one of the teams that tried to sign Kyrie back in 2019, he instead chose to join Kevin Durant in Brooklyn but this time around he could land on the other side of New York. 

This would be a good move for Kyrie as he would not have to move to a new city, while the Knicks are in a position where they could easily clear enough cap space to sign Irving outright or simply trade the likes of Evan Fournier, Kemba Walker & Alec Burks in a sign & trade deal.

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Kyrie Irving may not be the most reliable player off the court, but he is still a star in this league. The 30-year-old has averaged 27.2 points & 6.1 assists while shooting over 40% from three in his time with the Brooklyn Nets. 

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He will have many suitors if he is to leave Brooklyn, this is one to watch as we approach the NBA Draft and Free Agency.

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(Photo- David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)