Everyone in the basketball world is keeping an eye on the Brooklyn Nets. Their outlook on the NBA season is riding on what will happen with point guard Kyrie Irving.
As things currently stand, Irving is ineligible to play any home games at the Barclays Center. He has not gotten his COVID-19 vaccination and the mandate in the city is that you need to be vaccinated to be at indoor events.
Nets games at the Barclays Center and New York Knicks games at Madison Square Garden both fall under that. Irving was cleared to practice with the team, but he cannot play in the games until he is vaccinated.
San Francisco and Los Angeles have the same mandates, so the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers all have to follow these protocols as well. From what is being reported, every player will be eligible to play from those teams when the regular season begins as Andrew Wiggins received his vaccination to become eligible.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Execs See Brooklyn Nets’ Achilles Heel — It’s Not Kyrie Irving
Irving’s decision has wide-ranging impacts. He will not be paid for the games that he misses, as he will forfeit nearly $15 million in salary were he to miss all 41 games at Barclays Center.
So, the Nets have to decide what to do. According to Alec Sturm, via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the quartet of Kevin Durant, James Harden, owner Joe Tsai, and general manager Sean Marks will all be involved in the process to determine if Irving can be a part-time player.
A lot is riding on these discussions. Not only are the Nets going to be impacted by this decision for the season, but Irving’s short-term and long-term future with the team will be riding on this.
Durant has been steadfast in saying he wants Irving in Brooklyn and the mercurial point guard has gone as far as saying he would retire should he be traded away.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Execs See Brooklyn Nets’ Achilles Heel — It’s Not Kyrie Irving
He has very little trade value around the league, but if he remains unvaccinated, the Brooklyn Nets would likely have to try shopping him for players that will be able to contribute to more than half the games this season.
While Kevin Durant and James Harden are good enough to carry the team and compete for a championship, not having Kyrie Irving in the fold consistently will make things that much more difficult for the team.
