When Kyrie Irving puts aside the controversies, the tensions off the field, the headers and concentrates exclusively on the parquet, despite the passing seasons and the 30 years already completed, it continues to be difficult to find around the NBA a point guard as spectacular and effective as him. The Brooklyn Nets know this wellstruggling without Kevin Durant, but happy to have found a leader like Irving on the parquet – so much so that he finally put aside the tensions of the last few months; studded with absences, missed vaccines, injuries and opaque performances. Irving in this 2022-23 is showing off the best of himself again and the most mischievous can only underline how the expiry of his agreement with Brooklyn is approaching: in the “contract year” there are many who roll up their hands to convince teams to put attractive offers on the table. In the case of Irving, the Nets seem to have already tried an approach: renewal of four seasons, two guaranteed and two more “to be conquered”, with many bonuses related to appearances on the pitch. There is talk of important figures – around 30 million dollars a year, upwards – but they may not be enough to close the deal with Irving.
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The Brooklyn All-Star therefore has the opportunity to assert and weigh performances that are turning more than one head – in consideration of the fact that, in the event of non-renewal, Irving will be free agent in July and free to sign with the highest bidder. This is the scenario that the Lakers hope to be able to seize: without Russell Westbrook’s maxi contract, in fact, the salary space freed up in the yellow-violet cap could guarantee Irving an offer of 30 million a year – thus finding LeBron James by his side, playing with Anthony Davis and relaunching the ambitions of the Los Angeles franchise.
