Kyrie Irving Addresses Future With Brooklyn Nets

Following hectic summer and Los Angeles Lakers rumors, Nets star Kyrie Irving addressed his future

Joey Linn | Oct 15, 2022

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It was a hectic summer for the Brooklyn Nets, headlined by Kevin Durant's trade request. While Durant's trade request was the story of the offseason, his teammate Kyrie Irving also had a drama-filled summer.

Eventually opting into the last year of his deal in Brooklyn, Irving was reportedly attempting to join the Los Angeles Lakers. These rumors were recently reiterated by Stephen A. Smith, who said Irving wants to join Los Angeles next year. Speaking with ESPN's Nick Friedell, Irving was asked about his future.

"Well, I'm staying patient and letting those things play out, honestly," Irving told Friedell when asked about his looming free agency. "Because the best thing I can do right now is just build sustainable relationships and be there for people that go on the court and off the court. And that's going to be a unique task this year. Eliminating those distractions of thinking about things that I know are either in the future or they are not, or hoping -- I don't want to be in that phase. I just want to be present, live every day as God has given it to me and legitimately just have fun with this profession. It's a heck of a business, ain't it?"

Irving has been outspoken about the long-term contract extension he could have gotten had his season gone differently last year, but according to him, he is now focused on the present. Trusting that contract matters will get taken care of as long as he eliminates distractions, Irving is confident this can be a big year for him.

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Published Oct 15, 2022

JOEY LINN

Title: Credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation Email: joeylinn32@sbcglobal.net Education: Communication Studies degree from Biola University Location: Los Angeles, California Expertise: NBA analysis, insight, and reporting Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Receiving a media credential during the 2021-22 season, Joey has experience interviewing NBA players, and developing exclusive stories from these interviews. Having appeared on several different NBA podcasts over the last four seasons, Joey is now hosting his own podcast for The Sporting Tribune. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Now graduated, Joey is covering the NBA full-time across multiple platforms. Credentialed by the Clippers, Joey covers the team daily with articles, podcasts, and video breakdowns on YouTube. With four years of sports media experience, Joey provides expert insight and analysis for NBA fans across the league.

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