The Brooklyn Nets are begun finding their footing without starting point guard, Kyrie Irving. Irving is not eligible to play NBA games in New York City, meaning he cannot participate in Barclays Center or Madison Square Garden, because he has not yet received his COVID-19 vaccination.
Until he does that, he will remain away from the team. The organization came to the difficult decision that only full-time players would take the court for them, as Irving will remain away for the time being.
The only other NBA cities with similar mandates to New York City are San Francisco and Los Angeles. Only the home teams are impacted by the mandates, as visiting players receive exemptions to play even if they are unvaccinated.
The Nets are 10-4 currently, but they would much prefer having Irving in the lineup if possible. Could his return come shortly after the New Year?
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According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, there is some hope and optimism that Irving will be able to return to the court after New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams takes office. The New York City mandate is one of the things he will revisit once he is in office.
“Eric Adams, the Mayor-Elect of New York City, talked today about revisiting possibly January 1 when he takes over, the city’s vaccine mandates for government workers and there’s some hope, some optimism, including, I’m told, around Kyrie Irving, that revisiting may also include performers and athletes including Kyrie Irving.”
While there is optimism from Irving, the Nets may not exhibit the same level of patience. There is still a lot of time before any changes would even be discussed. Brooklyn may not want to wait that long, according to Wojnarowski.
“Now, that’s two months away before he takes office on January 1. The Brooklyn Nets, they have been getting calls about Kyrie Irving, about their interest in discussing trades with them. So how does this fit into the Nets timetable if Kyrie is going to wait into January to see what happens with the new mayor of New York City, how does that affect how the Nets move forward? There’s a lot to watch here, Greenie.”
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The mandate being updated would impact a lot of people other than Irving. It is something that will have plenty of eyes on it in the coming weeks, as there are plenty of people who share similar sentiments as Irving working in other fields impacted by the mandate in the city.
