NBA Hoops

Sean Marks sends clear message to Kyrie Irving about Nets future

Sean Marks at Nets press conference on May 11, 2022.

The Nets and Kyrie Irving have to have some real conversations this summer about how much they want him and just how much he wants to stay in Brooklyn.

Rather, whether he’s all-in and willing to do what it takes to win in Brooklyn.

After a campaign in which Irving played just 29 games — absences that contributed to the Nets’ shocking first-round playoff exit — he has a $36.5 million player option for this upcoming season. He could opt out to become a free agent, or look for a four-year, $185 million extension.

So how committed are both sides to this marriage of athletic convenience?

“That’s something we’ve been discussing and we will continue to debrief on and discuss throughout this offseason,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said Wednesday in his first comments since his team was swept out of the playoffs by the Celtics. “We haven’t had any of those discussions yet, so it’d be unfair for me to comment on how it looks with us and Kyrie, because to be quite frank he has some decisions to make on his own. He has to look at what he’s going to do with his player option.

Sean Marks at a Nets press conference on May 11, 2022
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

“We know what we’re looking for: We’ve looking for guys that want to come in here and be part of something bigger than themselves, play selfless, play team basketball and be available. That goes not only for Kyrie, but for everybody here.”

But there’s the rub with Irving.

He has missed 123 of 226 regular-season games the past three years, for various reasons: from shoulder surgery to a nine-game personal leave last season to refusing to take a COVID-19 vaccine this season. That decision caused him to miss 35 of 41 home games, costing himself roughly $14 million and costing the Nets wins.

Kyrie Iving during the Nets' playoff loss to the Celtics.
Kyrie Irving during the Nets’ playoff loss to the Celtics
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

“Those are going to be discussions. It’s a…

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