Woj: Kyrie Irving's Contract Talks with Nets Getting 'Acrimonious' Amid Trade Buzz

Contract talks between Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets regarding his potential future with the team have been getting "acrimonious," per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday's edition of NBA Today.

"Listen, people try to gain leverage. If you're Kyrie Irving, you're trying to go get the Nets to give you a longer-term deal with more guaranteed money than they want to give. The Nets are trying to go in the other direction—shorter deal, incentivized, because he just hasn't been on the floor as much as they'd like the couple years.

"This is getting acrimonious, and I think that's the concern when you look at not just Kyrie Irving's future in Brooklyn, but Kevin Durant's future and whether they can hold this thing together right now."

Irving currently holds a $36.9 million player option for the 2022-23 season.

News about Irving's future hasn't been particularly optimistic of late. Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic reported Monday the Nets and Irving were at an "impasse" in negotiations. Wojnarowski also reported Thursday that Irving has a list of teams he'd prefer for a sign-and-trade if he and the Nets can't get anything done.

Those reports follow one from Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News, who wrote in late May that the Nets were "outright unwilling" to give Irving a long-term extension.

On the flip side, Brian Lewis of the New York Post reported Wednesday the Nets are still Irving's most likely landing spot despite recent news on concerns in negotiations.

Irving, 30, averaged 27.4 points and 5.8 assists per game last year. He is a seven-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA Team member.

He has until Wednesday to pick up or decline the option, but the Nets could still ink him to a long-term deal before the free-agency negotiating period, which starts July 1.