With free agency getting closer, negotiations have begun

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty ImagesNegotiations, especially when they involve a quarter-billion dollars, can be tricky things. And they rarely only involve two parties.

So, as free agency approaches with deadlines at the end of next month, expect a lot of discussions and rumors emanating from everywhere. And that starts, of course, with Kyrie Irving.

Kristian Winfield reports Wednesday that Brooklyn is “now, according to a source familiar with the Nets’ thought process, outright unwilling to give him a long-term extension.”

The question is what does “long-term” extension mean? The Nets and Irving have a number of ways to get things done, starting with an Irving decision on his…