While the Brooklyn Nets were engaged with Kyrie Irving on a contract extension and the talks were clearly not progressing well, they are believed to be surprised with how he escalated the situation by requesting a trade less than a week before the trade deadline. 

"I honestly think this caught the Nets to a certain extent by surprise," said Brian Windhorst on his podcast Friday evening. "They certainly knew this was a bubbling issue. But I think the trade demand might have caught them by surprise based on what I have heard."

Brooklyn's offer to Irving reportedly contained certain incentives such as one for the Nets winning the championship, which displeased his camp.

Irving previously tried to leave the Nets during the 2022 offseason before he opted into his contract. The Nets have shown a willingness not to cave into trade demands when they declined to accommodate Kevin Durant last offseason.

Irving is on an expiring contract and was named an All-Star starter.