Kyrie Irving wants to be a Net, with or without Kevin Durant

As the summer saga around Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets slogs on, speculation continues to twist and change and morph.

That’s to be expected when you have a star-studded yet underachieving roster apparently on a path toward self-destruction after Durant requested a trade.

But a new twist to the story has emerged, with a recent report suggesting that Irving isn’t interested in leaving the Nets after all, even if Durant does.

“Kyrie has not asked for a trade,” a source close to Irving told the New York Post. “Now, if the Nets don’t want him, that’s something totally different. Kyrie has not said he wants a trade. He opted in. [So where did] the trade conversations come from? Is it because KD requested a trade and now everybody’s like let’s trade Ky? Kyrie opted in.”

What should make of this? Skip Bayless isn’t quite sure, and he explained on Wednesday’s edition of “Undisputed.”

“Every day we get a new plot twist, to the point where I never know what to believe,” Bayless said. “Knowing the childlike emotions of both Kyrie and Kevin Durant, they could change by the minute.”

Kyrie Irving wants to stay in Brooklyn with or without KD?

Kyrie Irving’s name has been in many trade scenarios this offseason, but he might not leave Brooklyn after all. Skip Bayless reacts to the report.

“I was under the impression that Kyrie badly wanted to reunite with LeBron [James],” Bayless continued. “This flies in the face of that.”

Bayless’ cohost Shannon Sharpe tried to bring some clarity to the latest development. 

He broke it down like this: Irving wanted a max deal. The Nets made it clear they wouldn’t give him one, so Irving opted in while also making it clear he wanted to explore a trade. But now, since only the Lakers have shown interest, Irving faces limited options.

“I believe Kyrie wants [a trade],” Sharpe said. “But when you’re looking around and you’re as skilled as Kyrie and one team? ‘You mean to tell me, of all y’all teams, none of y’all want me?’ ‘No. Because of your behavior off the court.'”

What it all comes down to for Bayless, though, is the status of Durant. Bayless believes that if the Nets made it clear Durant wasn’t going anywhere, all of this would be put to rest.

“Do I believe that the Brooklyn Nets are sick and tired of Kyrie enough that they have already made an internal pact that ‘we are going to get rid of him?’ … I don’t believe that at this point,” he said. “It still hinges on the nuclear weapon is Kevin. I would hold Kevin’s feet to the fire. I don’t believe Kevin would sit out a year if you said ‘hey, we’ve got a four-year deal, you’re gonna play here. … If he’s a Net next year, I believe Kyrie would be all-in on being a Net.”