After the "311 Battle", both the 76ers and the Nets have changed dramatically. The overall performance of the 76ers has taken a sharp turn for the worse, and the recent performance has been muddy and has no bright spots to speak of. In contrast, the Nets' morale is high, and Durant and Irving have come up with 50 points in a single game in a week. The recent performance of the Nets is changing people's perception of the deal, the Nets will not suffer as much as the outside world has evaluated, and it seems that 76 is the losing party. After the deal was made to Simmons, the Nets' basic framework for the next five years has been roughly determined, and the rumors that the Nets have abandoned the extension of Irving are also self-defeating.
According to the famous journalist Shams, the Nets are expected to complete an early contract extension with Irving in the offseason, and the Nets will issue a sincere contract extension according to the conditions Irving meets. This summer, Irving has player options in hand, and if nothing else, Irving will choose to jump out of the contract and sign early with the Nets. In half a month, Irving will turn 30 years old, and according to the relevant regulations of the league, the maximum contract that the Nets can give is 271 million US dollars for 5 years, which is also the largest contract that Irving can sign. As a result, Irving has no reason at all to decline the Nets' request for a contract extension. If the Nets can successfully complete the renewal in the offseason, then their championship window is completely locked. As long as Irving and Simmons can play in peace, the Nets will be the most competitive championship team in the next few years.
Perhaps in the eyes of many people, the Nets' renewal of a part-time player with a maximum salary contract is not a wise choice, but in fact, this is the only option for the Nets. Judging from the current pattern of the league, there will be basically no big players in the free agent market in the next two years, in other words, the extension of Irving is the nets' best way to strengthen. The Nets gave up Irving and could only sign ordinary All-Stars like Bill and LaVine, who obviously wouldn't do any better than Irving. From another point of view, New York City is gradually lifting the vaccine order, and it is only a matter of time before Irving returns to normal status as a player, so the Nets' early contract extension is not a problem.
As long as Durant can stay healthy, Simmons and Irving are definitely competent second-in-command, and the Nets really don't need to look far and wide for other big-name players. What's more, after so many things, the Nets management has also understood that Irving and Durant are almost impossible to break up, and their careers are already tied to each other. Previously, everyone thought that the Nets' problem was with Irving, and even so, Durant did not blame Irving, but let Irving do something wrong.
Now, the Nets have sent away the dedicated Harden, which shows Irving's position in the hearts of Durant and the Nets management. Yesterday, the Nets and Knicks had a "New York derby", and finally Durant blasted 53 points to lead the team to win, and Irving also came to the scene to watch. When Owen entered the audience, the team owner Tsai Chongxin greeted him, and the two embraced and exchanged a few words of greeting. After the game, even if Irving did not play, Durant still found Irving to celebrate. It seems that Irving gets along well, whether it is the relationship between the team management or the players, and the Nets are not dissatisfied with Irving's part-time job. The previous locker room problem may really come from Harden.
Although Harden and Durant are both members of the Thunder, it is clear that the friendship between Durant and Irving is deeper. It was Durant and Irving who went to New York City to play, which may also be the brother basketball That Durant wants, so he is almost infinitely tolerant of Irving. But Harden, as a player who joined halfway, came with the goal of winning the championship, and he couldn't understand brother basketball. Perhaps, as Durant put it, "Kyrie and I have championship rings, but Harden doesn't." "If Harden can wait patiently, maybe his probability of winning the championship will be a little higher."