Although Kyrie Irving has opted for his $ 36.5 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets, Brian Windhorst says the situation is not necessarily resolved. Windhorst thinks the Nets and Los Angeles Lakers could review discussions with Brooklyn thinking they could do better without Irving this season.
“When Kyrie announced she was opting for it, I said, ‘OK, we can move on. That won’t be anything,’ Windhorst said.
“But that’s not what my phone was telling me. It’s not what the executives were telling me. It’s not what the agents were telling me. They say this isn’t over, because the Nets made it clear to everyone that they don’t they wanted the status quo, if nothing else changed, they wouldn’t be happy, they weren’t sure if that would satisfy that situation.
“It wasn’t just because of the lack of a vaccine warrant. The whole way Kyrie operated over the last two seasons, not just what happened with the vaccine, was part of what Sean Marks did, and really for President Joe. Tsai, it was .. talk about it at the end of the season.
“I’d like to say this can be put to bed, but that’s not what my sources say. They don’t know if this will work.”
Windhorst also said part of the reason the Nets have been frustrated with Irving is because of how he treated his teammates.
“It wasn’t just about the vaccine’s mandate,” Windhorst said. “It was about Kyrie Irving treating his teammates. About the way Kyrie Irving treated his coaches.
“So part of that renegotiation would not just be an extension of the contract. It would be a renegotiation of how the team worked.”