Joe Tsai had no words for what he was watching. Instead, he turned to emojis — a few exploding heads, a few saluting faces on Twitter — as he watched Kyrie Irving’s emphatic, one-handed, put-back dunk on Monday night.
As if there were any doubt, the Nets owner has noticed what his star point guard is doing. Irving has re-established himself as one of the premier guards in the game, could be an All-Star for an eighth time, has helped lead the Nets to 12 straight victories and brought them back into title contention.
The present is promising, which means the future might have a delayed expiration date.
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In landing Irving and Kevin Durant beginning in 2019, the Nets hoped to unite two of the game’s greatest scorers on a super-team with unmatched talent. After plenty of setbacks and disappointments, the dream may be finally becoming a reality.
Since Irving returned on Nov. 20 from his eight-game suspension, the Nets have won 18 of 21 games. Durant has been typically sensational, while Irving has been prolific and atypically reliable. The superstar point guard has gotten to wherever he wants on a court, pouring in 25.9 points per game on 52.1 percent shooting in the span and elevated his 3-point touch, draining 42.3 percent from beyond the arc.
His explosion and athleticism have returned, which may have been best displayed with the violent jam that set off the Nets’ bench and had the team’s owner tweeting.
“I’ve been working on my body for the last year and a half, two years especially recovering from that traumatic ankle injury I had during the 2021 playoffs,” Irving said after scoring 27 points in 29 minutes. “I just felt like I didn’t have my feet underneath me at the end of last season, so coming into this season I definitely put an emphasis on being more on my toes and getting stronger.”
His 30-year-old body might warrant a max contract. The Nets will have to decide whether his often mercurial mind will, too.
Irving opted into the final year of his pact, worth $36.5 million, this season because he had few suitors and Nets general manager Sean Marks was unwilling to guarantee multiple years to a player so often unavailable.
The move looked prescient early this season, when Irving shared, through social media, a movie that contained anti-Semitic elements. After the Nets suspended him, Irving apologized, fulfilled various self-betterment requirements and returned to the court, where his focus has remained.
Irving is playing on “a show-me, prove-it contract,” said Bobby Marks, also a former Nets assistant general manager. “We know what happened early in the year, but he’s warranted at least for now a new contract with Brooklyn.”
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If the Nets do decide they want to remain in business with Irving, the next question would surround their competition. The Lakers have long been linked with Irving, and other teams with projected salary cap space include the Rockets, Hornets, Pistons, Pacers, Thunder and Magic.
It is possible Irving wants to reunite with old Cavaliers pal LeBron James in Los Angeles, but James can opt out of his contract after the 2023-24 season. Would the Lakers offer Irving a contract for several seasons, which potentially would keep him around longer than James?
“I do still think it’s hard for a team to commit more than two seasons to him,” Bobby Marks said of Irving, who still is eligible for a four-year, $198 million ($AU288 million) extension, but, “I think the days of a four-year, $200 million player — unless it’s Brooklyn, which I don’t think it is — are long gone for him.”
What still is in reach, ESPN’s Marks believes, is max money on a year-to-year basis, with maybe a two-season guarantee. The Nets might be more incentivized than anyone to give Irving that payday.
If they do not re-sign Irving, would Durant ask for a trade for a second time? The Nets cannot simply replace Irving with another $35 million or $40 million star because of limited cap space, with so much occupied by contracts for Durant, Ben Simmons and Joe Harris. Tsai and Sean Marks do not have many options.
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For now, they can hope Irving continues to look like a superstar worth keeping around for more title runs. The reversal surrounding Irving’s future prospects — there was wonder just a few months ago whether he would ever play in the NBA again — has been as abrupt as Irving’s bursts with the ball in his hands.
The Cavaliers and Celtics relied on Irving, too, until they couldn’t and he forced his way elsewhere. You never know with Irving.
But after signing a prove-it deal, he is beginning to prove it.
“I went on national TV when [Irving shared the anti-Semitic film] and said, ‘When do we get to the point of enough’s enough? When you cut ties with him?’ ” Bobby Marks said. “And things have turned around remarkably for everyone.”
This article was originally published at the New York Post and was republished with permission.
