Sports

Kyrie Irving chooses his best option and returns to the Nets

By VINCENT DAVIS

Special to the AmNews

The Brooklyn Nets and Kyrie Irving will move off the tabloid headlines for now with Irving’s decision earlier this week to opt into his 2022-23, $36.9 million dollar contract with the franchise.

“Normal people keep the world going, but those who dare to be different lead us into tomorrow,” stated Irving according to a report by The Athletic’s Shams Charania. “I’ve made my decision to opt in. See you in the fall,” Irving informed followers of the NBA.

One of the league’s most prolific scorers, Irving had presented the Nets with a list of teams to which he would accept a trade if the two sides could not come to an agreement. But after the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly were the only team that was a possible destination, the 30-year-old seven-time All-Star made the best choice by staying with the Nets for the time being.

If he had decided to opt out of his 2022-23 contract, Irving would have become an unrestricted free agent. But there were only a handful of teams with the salary cap space to offer him a contract comparable to what he will be making next season. Also, Irving’s history of stepping away from the Nets for personal reasons and missing most of last season as he remains unvaccinated, gave Brooklyn and other teams valid reasons for not wanting to sign him to a longterm deal.

Hopes were high for the Nets and their fan base in the summer of 2019 when team general manager Sean Marks announced the free-agent signings of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. They were expected to lead the franchise to a championship as Irving previously did with the Cleveland Cavaliers (one title) and Durant did with the Golden State Warriors (two rings). Thus far they have come up empty.

With Irving and Ben Simmons, whom the team acquired in a trade for James Harden last season, healthy and engaged for a full season in a lineup with Durant, the Nets are as talented as any team in the league. Simmons did not suit up for the Nets due to a back injury and dealing with mental health issues.

The Nets were swept 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs this past season by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics.

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After weeks of rumors and negotiations, Nets GM Sean Marks and guard Kyrie Irving both had a win after Irving exercised his 2022-23 contract option with the team (Photo credit: Bill Moore)

The Knicks take a calculated risk in free agent targets

By JAIME C. HARRIS

AmNews Sports Editor Although NBA teams and free agents can begin negotiating at 6 p.m. today, one would be naive to believe that discussions haven’t already begun through back channels. If the letter of the rule regarding free agency was being adhered to, then the Knicks would not be intently and strategically clearing salary cap space, uncertain that a player or players they’re targeting will sign with them when contracts can become official on July 6. Beginning in 2008, under the direction of then general manager Donnie Walsh, the Knicks began the purging of big contracts from their roster and achieved the objective of having cap space by the summer of 2010 to sign two max players. Their hearts were rightly desirous of LeBron James, the gem of the free agency class. Instead, they settled for Amar’e Stoudemire. The rest is history. Fast forward and the Knicks traded Kemba Walker to the Detroit Pistons last week, and Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks to the Pistons this week to once again clear cap space to sign free agents. There are no transformative players like James available in this free agency cycle, but it is apparent the Knicks have targeted point guard Jalen Brunson and the optimistic feelings are mutual. Several news outlets have put Brunson’s anticipated deal at four years and $100 million. Given their reactions on social media platforms, it is somewhat gut-wrenching for many Knicks fans to accept their team’s seeming desperation to sign a player who hasn’t had All-Star consideration in his four years in the league or been viewed as a top 10 player at his position. In fact, Luka Doncic was the Mavericks’ primary ball handler for the past three seasons. However unreasonable fans may view the Knicks’ coveting of Brunson, evidently, their key decision makers, headed by team president Leon Rose, see him as a critical piece to them being competitive for a playoff spot and not just the play-in tournament. The counter argument is that Brunson, at 25, the 2018 National College Player of the Year and two-time NCAA champion at Villanova, is just beginning his prime playing years, and should provide stability and steady production at the point. Alleviating much of the playmaking responsibilities in setting up teammates that fell on Julius Randle and R.J. Barrett last season, a skill that is not among their strengths. Brunson had an impressive postseason with the Dallas Mavericks, averaging 21.6 points, 3.7 assists and 4.6 rebounds for a team that lost to the Golden State Warriors

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04/14/22 0 74470 22784 7 in the Western Conference Finals in May. His father, former Knick Rick Brunson, was hired earlier this month by the organization to join head coach Tom Thibodeau’s staff. Brunson was on Thibodeau’s staffs with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves, and was Rose’s first client when Rose was an agent. Rose’s son Sam is Jalen Brunson’s agent so the connections are long-standing. Yet it is unlikely that Brunson alone, or in conjunction with the re-signing of center Mitch Robinson, who is reportedly inking a four year deal for $60 million, will lift the Knicks beyond being a challenger for seeds 7 to 10 in the formidable and rugged Eastern Conference landscape. The Knicks finished 37-45 last season, 11th in the East. So perhaps the Knicks have what will amount to basketball’s version of an October surprise and will land a major player who no one saw coming. Probably not, but such a player is needed to make them significantly better.

Free agent center Mitchell Robinson, who was drafted by the Knicks with the 36th pick in 2018, is expected to re-sign and remain with the Knicks (Photo credit: Bill Moore) 01164

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