All signs are continuing to point to Kyrie Irving joining the Brooklyn Nets this summer.
The 27-year-old star point guard added fuel to the speculative fire on Wednesday when he split with long-time agent Jeff Weschler and joined Jay-Z’s Roc Nation.
Jay-Z, a Brooklyn native, was also a part owner of the Nets until 2013.
Irving to the Nets has gained some serious momentum this month, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting on Jun. 6 that he is “serious about the Nets.”
Raised in New Jersey, Irving grew up a Nets fan during one of the franchise’s golden ages. They made two-straight NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003 behind Irving’s idol, Jason Kidd.
Before his split with Weschler on Wednesday, Irving opted out of the final year of his contract with the Boston Celtics. It will officially make him an unrestricted free agent on Jul. 1 and paves the way for him coming to Brooklyn.
There will be plenty of competition for him, especially from the New York Knicks. Brooklyn’s crosstown rival has two max-salary slots to offer the chance of pairing Irving with another superstar. Those plans could have taken a hit though when Kevin Durant ruptured his Achilles.
Sources told Wojnarowski that Irving and Durant had discussed playing together with either the Knicks or Nets. Durant was favored to go to the Knicks before his injury, which could throw a wrench into those plans.
Regardless, Wojnarowski confirmed that Irving is still “intensely interested” in joining the Nets.
Bringing him on would be the first step of overhauling changes for Brooklyn, which could include the departure of All-Star point guard D’Angelo Russell.
