NBA Rumors: How Kyrie Irving's player option influenced Kevin Durant's trade request

Though a potential divorce between Kyrie Irving and the Nets made a lot of headlines this offseason, those rumors briefly came to an end when he picked up his player option. But itdidn’t last long.

Kevin Durant‘s shocking trade request out of Brooklyn a few days later once again put the guard’s future in question. Both came to Barclays Center together in 2019, so it’s been rumored that if one left the organization, so would the other.

But the reason why Durant suddenly wants out of the Nets is still unclear. Does it have something to do with Irving opting into his option? Thatmay be a factor, but not necessarilybecause KD doesn’t want to play with Irving.

Rumor: Lack of contract extension for Kyrie Irving may have led Kevin Durant to request trade

According to Vince Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, the fact that Kyrie wasn’t offered a contract extension may have driven KD out of Brooklyn. Here’s what he said in an appearance on the Basketball Illuminati podcast:

(Via Heavy.com)

“I believe he looked at Kyrie Irving not getting his full max extension as a sign that this (Brooklyn) isn’t a serious organization. You don’t jerk a player like Kyrie Irving around like that. Because that’s my (Durant’s) boy, I want the best for him. But sometimes you know that your boy isn’t the best for you either. So it was like, ‘you know what? This ain’t it.’ Even if I wouldn’t have given him the extension, they should have, and because they didn’t ‘get me outta here,’ Goodwill insisted.”

However, it made sensethe Nets refused to tie Irving down to a long-term contract knowing what they’ve been through, especially last year. In fact, they could even trade him this summerfor the right offer.