The Brooklyn Nets are championship contenders in the Eastern Conference this season even with Kyrie Irving currently sitting out due to vaccine mandates in New York City, but his future with Brooklyn seems clouded. Due to Irving being unvaccinated, he is ineligible to play in home games for the Nets this NBA season.
The 7x All-Star could play in away games for the Nets this season, but prior to the start of the season, the Brooklyn Nets released the following statement in regards to Irving’s availability:
“Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose. Currently the choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team, and we will not permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability. It is imperative that we continue to build chemistry as a team and remain true to our long-established values of togetherness and sacrifice.”
“Our championship goals for the season have not changed, and to achieve these goals each member of our organization must pull in the same direction. We are excited for the start of the season and look forward to a successful campaign that will make the borough of Brooklyn proud.”
Brooklyn Nets’ general manager Sean Marks on Kyrie Irving’s status prior to the start of the regular season
The Nets have begun the 2021-22 season 7-4 and amongst the top of the Eastern Conference standings, but they are still trying to figure out their identity without Kyrie Irving. Former league MVP James Harden has struggled to begin the year given the decline in foul calls that usually result in him shooting free throws, leading Kevin Durant to be this team’s only consistent producer on the offensive end of the floor.
Last season, Brookly ranked second in the league in points per game and ranked 1st in the league in offensive rating, but so far this season, they rank 21st in the league in scoring and 19th in the league in offensive rating.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: This Nets-Pistons Trade Is Headlined By Kyrie Irving To Detroit
Getting new faces like Patty Mills, LaMarcus Aldridge, Paul Millsap and others acclimated to the system takes time, which could be part of their struggles right now, but overall, this Nets team needs their third superstar in order to live up to their full potential.
Whether or not they can win a title without Irving remains a significant question mark, but given how they have looked early on in the season, they could have definitely benefited in all eleven games so far if Kyrie Irving was on the court.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Brooklyn Nets have taken some calls from teams on Kyrie Irving, but they have not made any calls to teams pursuing a trade at this time. Brooklyn could definitely be interested in moving their All-Star guard, especially if they still have some voids to fill near the trade deadline this season.
What team would be willing to take on Irving’s contract and negative media attention is a whole different story here, but there are some teams around the league that could greatly benefit from adding Kyrie Irving to their roster right now.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: This Nets-Pistons Trade Is Headlined By Kyrie Irving To Detroit
Could the San Antonio Spurs be one of these teams? They were interested in adding Ben Simmons this offseason, so the Spurs could definitely be a team interested in making a trade for an All-Star-level talent to lead their young core.
The fit does seem a little questionable, especially since they have a young backcourt with the likes of Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Lonnie Walker IV and others, but let’s take a look at a trade proposal put together by Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey that would send Kyrie to San Antonio.
