Report: Nets give Kyrie Irving permission to seek sign-and-trade deals

What the Brooklyn Nets are really saying to Kyrie Irving:

“You think there’s great demand for your services on a long-term max contract? Then go find a sign-and-trade, or opt-in and trade, yourself. Good luck with that. Oh, and by the way, we don’t want Russell Westbrook.”

Kyrie Irving has until Wednesday to decide whether he will opt-in to the $36.9 million he is owed next season or become a free agent — and the second he decides, either way, a lot of his already limited leverage disappears. It appears the relationship between Irving and the Nets has severely deteriorated — he gave the team a list of destinations he would want to play for — and now the Nets are giving him permission to look for sign-and-trades (or opt-in and trades) for himself, reports Kristian Winfield at the New York Daily News.

While Nets GM Sean Marks and superstar forward Kevin Durant have yet to speak this offseason, Irving’s camp has requested and received permission from the Nets to speak with other teams about sign-and-trade packages, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.

The belief among both league and player circles is that Irving is gone and the Seven-Eleven Era is over before it ever began.

Of the teams on the list Irving gave the Nets, a couple of teams are not interested — the Clippers and Mavericks, according to league sources — and the idea of pairing Irving and Harden in Philadelphia is laughable.

That leaves three teams: The Lakers, Knicks, and Heat.

And according to multiple reports now, it’s really only the Lakers.

ESPN Sources: Outside of the Lakers, there are currently no known teams planning pursuit of sign-and-trades for Nets G Kyrie Irving. No sign-and-trades can be formally discussed until after 6 PM on