Kyrie Irving is so brave. The mercurial point guard who's missed an insane amount of games over the last three seasons due to injuries, undisclosed personal reasons and his refusal to be vaccinated exercised his player option with the Nets Monday for $37 million.
What an amazing man.
Upon exercising his option, Irving spouted one of his most self-indulgent quotes ever, which is saying something. "Normal people keep the world going, but those who dare to be different lead us into tomorrow. I've made my decision to opt in. See you in the fall," he wrote, per The Athletic.
Yes, Irving is "daring to be different" … by agreeing to play basketball for nearly $40 million.
The truth is, Irving opted in because he was left with few palatable alternatives. The Nets reportedly granted Irving permission to seek a sign-and-trade, but only the Lakers were interested, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski says the Nets weren't enthralled with the Lakers' offer, effectively killing the possibility of Irving winding up in purple and gold — unless he opted out and signed with the Lakers in free agency.
Due to cap constraints, the only way Irving would've been able to sign with the Lakers is if he accepted the mid-level exception worth $6 million.
That would've been an epic financial miscalculation. Even Irving, who seems almost completely detached from reality, wouldn't voluntarily surrender roughly $30 million in earnings.
The Nets used their leverage against Irving and won. While Irving spoke about his desire to "co-manage" the franchise with Kevin Durant, Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks implied he wasn't willing to extend Irving long-term. Marks told reporters he wants players who are committed to the team all year long.
That's not the case with Irving, who's only played in 103 games over the last three seasons. The injuries would be concerning on their own: the 30-year-old guard hasn't appeared in more than 70 games in a season since 2016-17. Irving's proclivity to miss time for vague personal reasons — as he did during the 2020-21 campaign — and unavailability for most home games last season only makes him a riskier investment.
At this stage, Irving must prove he's worth it. Everybody seems to know it, except him.
The basketball world will keep going regardless of how often he steps onto the court.
