“They made their deal with the devil” - Chris Mannix believes it’s Kyrie Irving or nothing for the Brooklyn Nets because of his friendship with Kevin Durant

Kyrie Irving confidently said after the Brooklyn Nets were swept by the Boston Celtics that he’s not going anywhere and will stick with Kevin Durant. Irving added an incredibly cringe-worthy moment when he boldly claimed to co-manage the team with KD, team owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks.

While “Uncle Drew’s” words caused several sports analysts to roll their eyes in disbelief, the Brooklyn Nets may not be lucky enough to do anything about it. Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, who appeared on the Dan Patrick Show, is convinced that Brooklyn will have to bite the bullet because of Durant’s friendship with Irving.

“It’s Kyrie or it’s nothing at this point. As dangerous as it is to give him a four-year or a five-year contract, even in the neighborhood of $245+ million, what else are you gonna do? They made their deal with the devil, so to speak, and this is what this is kind of what this team looks like moving forward.”

Kyrie Irving has played in just 103 regular-season games for the Brooklyn Nets in three seasons. He was the biggest reason why the Nets relied so much on Kevin Durant to play close to 40 minutes in almost every game. James Harden ultimately couldn’t stomach Irving’s drama and forced his way out.

Kyrie Irving is almost comedic, mentioning chemistry being a big issue for the Nets. He was at the core of why Brooklyn can’t find rhythm and consistency for most of the season.

Kevin Durant called out Bruce Brown for his comments on the Boston Celtics' disadvantage without starting center Robert Williams before the playoffs started. KD never held Kyrie accountable for coming up with some incredulous reasons to miss games and leaving his teammates hanging.

There were reports back when Durant and Kyrie Irving joined forces to create their superteam that the Nets were only willing to include Irving to get Durant. If those were true, then Brooklyn may have to regret that decision for $245 million more reasons in the next five years.

---

The Brooklyn Nets are likely stuck with the Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons trio

The Brooklyn Nets are tied up to their Big 3. [Photo: Sporting News]

While the Brooklyn Nets can retool the supporting cast, the main actors will be the same. As long as Kevin Durant is in the house, Kyrie Irving can’t be too far behind.

Unless KD, the front office or even Joe Tsai make some uncomfortable decisions, the Nets are stuck with the supposedly best-skilled duo ever.

Ben Simmons is another bewildering component of the Brooklyn Nets drama. Chris Mannix nailed it when he said:

“I don’t know what choice they have. The Nets would prefer not to, but is there some team out there that would?... The Nets don’t have a lot of moves here. Kevin Durant is locked up, Joe Harris is locked up coming back. Ben Simmons, he’s got three years left on his contract and is untradeable at this point. You let Kyrie walk, it’s not like you clear this max level cap space to go out and get somebody else.”

The offseason may have officially started for the Nets, but the riveting drama continues.