Kyrie Irving issued the Brooklyn Nets a trade demand on Friday, and Chris Haynes is reporting that his beef with the team -- at least his most recent one -- stems from a championship stipulation Brooklyn included in the contract extension it recently offered Irving.
Haynes didn't elaborate on the exact language of this championship stipulation, but it could be tied to the final year of the deal not being guaranteed -- unless perhaps the Nets were to win a title between now and then.
Either way, Haynes continued to report that Irving was so insulted by this, shall we say, conditional offering, that he now wouldn't even sign with the Nets if they offered the full, unconditional max deal for which he is eligible to sign with them.
Kyrie Irving’s camp did not negotiate after Brooklyn Nets presented an offer that was tied to team winning a championship, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport. Told the issue was not about money, and now it’s said he wouldn’t even stay if offered a full max contract.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 3, 2023
Per ESPN, Irving, who will be a free agent this summer, was seeking a deal from Brooklyn "in the neighborhood of" four years, $198.5 million. If he can get to another team before the deadline, that team would also be acquiring Irving's Bird rights, which, if they felt so inclined, would allow them to offer him the same four-year max.
Irving wants his money, but not badly enough to accept it from the Nets. And that is good because the team is unlikely to offer to him anyway. Frankly, it would be surprising if any team did.
