The Brooklyn Nets have been on the periphery of the Kyrie Irving free agency talks from the time it became apparent the former All-NBA selection plans to opt out of the last year of his contract to test the waters as an unrestricted free agent come July 1.
And the speculation that the Nets could be in play for the soon-to-be 27-year-old (Irving’s birthday is March 23) has been there from the beginning, given Irving’s New Jersey roots and the fact Irving grew up a fan of the Jason Kidd-era New Jersey Nets.