Why? Because Kevin Durant is his homie. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski laid it out for us in a recent report on ESPN+. If Irving leaves, there’s a chance KD might leave, too. And Brooklyn doesn’t want that. “For everything owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks did to assemble one of the modern NBA’s most talented Big 3s, Irving’s impenetrable connection to Durant looms as a domino to the dismantling of the roster. Brooklyn is straddling the narrowest of walkways: Keeping conviction on Irving’s contract talks and keeping Durant’s desire to stay a Net.”