Lowball Kyrie Irving Trades Brooklyn Nets Should Actually Consider

On Friday night, New York City mayor-elect Eric Adams made it clear that he will not change the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

That's bad news for the Brooklyn Nets, who remain without Kyrie Irving because of his refusal to comply with the mandate and the team's decision against allowing him to be a part-time player (he could've played in away games under current restrictions).

It increasingly looks like Irving will miss the entire season. With Kevin Durant and James Harden nearing the end of their primes, the Nets might have to entertain trade offers for their All-Star point guard, even in the face of recent rumors suggesting he might retire if moved (Kyrie himself has denied those reports).

Even with the controversy that might follow Irving, several teams around the league—particularly those those in markets without mandates similar to New York's—should be interested if he's available. And now might be the time to jump into the fray with a lowball offer.

These are the teams that should at least pick up the phone and take their shot, long as it might be.

Indiana Pacers

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Lowball Offer: Myles Turner, Jeremy Lamb and a top-10-protected 2023 first-round pick for Irving

Why Nets Should Consider It: In a vacuum, this deal is a clear talent downgrade for Brooklyn. But both of the incoming Pacers can help the Nets compete for a title this season, whereas it's unclear whether Irving will.

Between Harden, Patty Mills and Jevon Carter, the Nets are in good shape in the backcourt. They also have plenty of bigs with Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Paul Millsap, James Johnson and Nic Claxton.

What the Nets lack is wing depth. Jeremy Lamb could help on that front. 

Injuries have limited Lamb's availability in recent years, but he has averaged 11.3 points in 24.6 minutes while posting an above-average three-point percentage over the past three seasons. A top-120 box plus/minus during that span and a 6'11" wingspan suggest he can be helpful on defense, too.

The Nets don't have many players beyond Durant and Bruce Brown Jr. who can slow down opposing wings. Lamb isn't the second coming of Scottie Pippen, but he'd more resistance in those matchups than Joe Harris.

More important than all of that, though, may be the inclusion of Myles Turner.

Brooklyn's center position has been something of a revolving door since the start of last season, and Turner would provide stability, rim protection and the ability to space the floor. The move might boost Turner's production as well. 

Career numbers of 12.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 0.9 threes are solid, but Turner has never played with a setup man like Harden. Inside, he'd be spoon-fed dunks. And his three-point attempts would be easier to get off thanks to the defensive attention commanded by the two stars.

Why Pacers Should Make the Offer: The Pacers have started to right the ship a bit, but a 1-6 start highlighted a problem that has followed them since they acquired Domantas Sabonis in 2017.

During Sabonis and Turner's four-plus seasons together, Indiana is minus-0.3 points per 100 possessions with both of them on the floor, plus-2.7 when Sabonis plays without Turner and plus-3.3 when Turner plays without Sabonis.

Both big men can ably hold down the fort when the frontcourt is populated by players at the right positions. But they're also both centers, and the evidence is pretty overwhelming that they're better apart.

Even with the drama that Irving often brings to his teams, adding him while also addressing the overlap inside feels like a pretty big win for Indiana.

Malcolm Brogdon has played plenty of 2 in his career (as has Kyrie), so that fit makes far more sense than the Sabonis-Turner logjam.

San Antonio Spurs

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Lowball Offer: Derrick White, Thaddeus Young and a top-five-protected 2023 first-round pick for Irving

Why Nets Should Consider It: The driving factor behind Brooklyn entertaining a deal like this is getting something from Kyrie's roster spot. No one would argue that Derrick White will replicate Irving's production, but he's a starting quality guard (or, at least a sixth man) who would help on both ends.

Since the start of last season, White is a top-100 BPM player with averages of 18.0 points, 4.7 assists, 2.7 threes, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals per 75 possessions. He does a little bit of everything and would give head coach Steve Nash another option to deploy against opposing wings, sparing Harden and Durant from those assignments.

The bigger selling point here might be Thaddeus Young.

It's still early in the season, but Griffin, Millsap and Johnson all have below-average BPMs. Meanwhile, the 2020-21 version of Young seems like an ideal fit for the role some of them were supposed to play. 

Last season, Young was among the top 40 in BPM and averaged 18.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, a career-high 6.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.9 blocks per 75 possessions. He wouldn't be empowered to handle the ball as much as he did with the Chicago Bulls, but that kind of versatility in concert with White would relieve Harden and Durant of a ton of pressure.

On defense, they could take on the tougher scorers. On the other end, they could be trusted to keep the ball moving until it got to the all-time greats.

Neither White nor Young is a star like Irving, but swapping someone who isn't even playing for two quality rotation players would provide a massive boost to the Nets' depth.

Why Spurs Should Make the Offer: San Antonio is loaded with role players, and Dejounte Murray might even be a borderline star. But even with their strong infrastructure, legendary coach and decent baseline of talent, they feel sort of rudderless.

Stars can provide instant direction. And though the last few years have made Kyrie's compass seem difficult to calibrate, there's no denying his talent.

When Irving is on the floor, he scores in a way few players across history can match. And Murray might be the perfect complementary backcourt mate for him.

With Irving mesmerizing defenders in the middle of the floor, Murray could feast on cuts to the paint. His own drive-and-kick game would provide Irving with plenty of catch-and-shoot opportunities. And the most obvious benefit for Kyrie would be the defense of Murray, who can take on any assigned guard on that end.

Philadelphia 76ers

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Lowball Offer: Ben Simmons for Kyrie Irving

Why Nets Should Consider It: It's difficult to determine who's getting lowballed in this scenario. 

Assuming both are healthy and engaged, Kyrie is more of a ceiling raiser right now. But Simmons is four years younger and is far better defensively. Adding him to this mix could make over Brooklyn's defense.

Simmons can guard 1 through 4 (and maybe even some 5s), which would allow Nash to get creative with defensive schemes. And in lineups with Harden and Durant, Simmons' inability or unwillingness to shoot threes wouldn't be as pronounced. Defenses have to focus on the perimeter when either star has the ball, which could open up cutting lanes for Simmons.

He'd have to get used to having fewer possessions as the offensive engineer, but being around surefire Hall of Famers could make that an easier sell.

Why 76ers Should Make the Offer: Philadelphia is in a situation similar to Brooklyn's. That's why so many people have naturally gravitated toward this framework over the last few weeks.

In October, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that neither team had called the other about a potential Irving-Simmons deal, but it would seemingly solve both sides' problems.

Neither star is playing because of specific circumstances with their current teams. If Simmons is unvaccinated (as his recent return timeline suggests might be the case), this deal wouldn't help the Nets at all. But if he is, he'd suddenly be out of the situation he's been trying to leave all offseason, and Irving would be in a market where he can play home games.

Beyond that, Irving fits far better than Simmons does within Philadelphia's roster.

The Sixers are winning despite Simmons' absence because the surround-Joel Embiid-with-shooters model works. And Irving would only help in that regard.

It's not difficult to imagine how Embiid could bolster Irving, too. With the amount of attention the big man commands inside, Irving would do plenty of damage as a catch-and-shoot or closeout-attacking threat on kickouts.