Despite much speculation about his status with the team, the Brooklyn Nets have made it clear to other teams that they are not interested in trading Kyrie Irving.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania's report, Irving has been "holding constructive dialogue" with the Nets' front office throughout the offseason despite allegations that he wanted to team back up LeBron James in Los Angeles.
Brooklyn at one point looked bound to completely blow up the roster after Durant requested a trade from the team in June. Now with Irving wanting to stay with Brooklyn and the front office being steadfast in finding the right trade partner for KD, these two may end up still on the roster at the beginning of the season.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst adds in a separate report that Brooklyn is counting on both players remaining on the team so they can make one more run at an NBA Championship.
"Right now, I think the Nets want to run this team back and they're hoping Kevin Durant agrees," Windhorst said. "The way they're conducting trade talks and the prices they are asking has teams out there thinking they don't really want to trade Kevin Durant anyway. They want to bring this team back."
Brooklyn's 2021-22 season was one ruined by off-the-court drama and the injury bug -- starting out with Irving refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine to key players sitting out with injuries during important points in the season.
With the addition of Ben Simmons, who will be fully healthy and ready to go for the first time in over a year, the entire dynamic of the team will shift either for better or worse. Only time will tell what happens before the team reports to training camp in late Sept.
Follow Jasper Jones on Twitter: @jonesj2342
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