Kyrie Irving Rumors: Nets Unwilling to Make Trade That Only Brings Back Future Assets

The Brooklyn Nets reportedly aren't interested in pivoting to a rebuilding process even amid an offseason of constant headlines.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Brooklyn will not trade Kyrie Irving "if the deal solely brings back future assets. They apparently want win-now talent in return to part with Irving, despite all of the turmoil that has engulfed the Nets for months."

Irving is entering what will be the final season of his contract after he opted into it in June, but that hasn't stopped trade rumors from circulating this offseason.

Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported Thursday that LeBron James wants the Los Angeles Lakers to trade for his former teammate who helped him with a championship with the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers.

James "has been privately adamant that the Lakers still need to improve the current roster and trade for superstar point guard Kyrie Irving," Buha wrote.

If that does happen, the Nets reportedly want enough pieces to remain a factor in the Eastern Conference standings during the 2022-23 campaign. How the Irving and Kevin Durant situations unfold will ultimately determine whether that will be a realistic possibility, as having even one of them on the floor with some of that "win-now talent" would elevate the team's ceiling.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Durant met with Nets governor Joe Tsai and presented an ultimatum that the team needs to either trade him or fire head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks.

Thus far, neither has happened.

Charania pointed to the team's high asking price in any Durant trade, and Tsai publicly supported the team's staff in a tweet. That means the Nets could enter training camp having to navigate a star player and multiple people he apparently wants fired on top of the long-term uncertainty with the Irving situation.

Perhaps no team in the NBA has as wide a range of potential outcomes for the 2022-23 campaign at this point.