The Nets have decided that Kyrie Irving as a part-time player is not something they're interested in. The team made clear on Tuesday that because Irving is ineligible to play in home games, they won't allow him to join the team for any games until his vaccination status changes. It's a difficult decision, but ultimately seems like the right one for a team that has an almost endless abundance of talent.

All is not lost in Brooklyn. The Nets no doubt accounted for their legitimate hopes of winning a title without Irving when they made this decision. How many teams in the NBA could lose a top-20 player and still maintain realistic title aspirations? Surely no others. That's how great the divide may be between the Nets (on paper at least) and everyone else.

Here are three reasons the Nets could still win the title even if Irving never suits up for Brooklyn this season

James Harden

James Harden only played 32 games last season for the Nets. He averaged a near triple-double with 24.6 points, 10.9 dimes and 8.5 rebounds, not to mention 1.3 steals. He was never right after injuring his hamstring early in the season and aggravating it for a second time in the opening minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

But make no mistake: Whenever healthy, Harden is an MVP candidate. That's been the case for nearly a decade.

Harden was squarely in the conversation for MVP last season before suffering his injury. If he's right, I'd pencil one of the greatest players ever in for another sensational year.

A Houston Rockets team built around him and Chris Paul in 2018 came within one game—not to mention the latter's own hamstring injury—of defeating the league's greatest collection of talent ever assembled, one that included this next dude…

Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant is now the best player in the world, at least according to the latest power rankings from ESPN and Sports Illustrated. The Nets only had their big three of Durant, Harden and Irving in the lineup for eight games last regular season. There were a lot of things that did not go in the team's favor, but rookie coach Steve Nash and his staff—which included Mike D'Antoni (now a coaching advisor with the New Orleans Pelicans) and Ime Udoka (now head coach of the Boston Celtics)—pushed so many of the right buttons. When one of the big three was out, they made it work with the other two. When two couldn't go, they stole some games they had no business stealing with one.

All season long there was a next-man-up mentality and that carried on during the playoffs. When Harden couldn't continue, the team still won the first two games of the series against Milwaukee. When Irving then went down, Durant, a hobbled Harden and the reserves battled hard and came up just a couple of inches short of knocking off the eventual champs.

Go through the league and identify one team that is definitively better than this Nets squad without Kyrie Irving and you'll come up short. They might not get it done without Irving. But they'd have almost as good of a shot as any other top team.

The potential blockbuster trade

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Yes, it would be possible for Brooklyn to win the title without Kyrie suiting up this year, mostly because of Harden and Durant. But if there is no scenario on the table where Kyrie gets the vaccine and takes the floor, it would make Nash's life a lot easier if they could get something of value for him via trade.

There's been plenty written about this. There exists the rumor that Irving would simply retire if traded. Stephen A. Smith of ESPN has suggested Durant wouldn't be cool with the team moving his close friend. Might KD's position change now that he knows the team won't allow Irving to play at all if he can't play in home games? Maybe. Maybe not.

The trouble here is that Irving is in a contract year, assuming he opts out next summer and hits free agency. If he doesn't arrive at an extension with the Nets (something that seems less and less likely by the day here), that seems inevitable.

So what team would take the gamble on Irving? Teams would have to worry about their own state passing vaccination mandates, Irving retiring, getting hurt, taking time for “personal reasons” or simply leaving them next summer for another team. He represents a very risky bet. Even with all of that in mind, there are plenty of teams who might well embrace some risk for a talent like Irving.

As a fan, you may not like your team's chances of winning a title better with Ben Simmons instead of Irving. But if Irving isn't available, you might suddenly see Simmons as a huge upgrade to a lineup that would have featured lots of Paul Millsap. There might be a blockbuster trade out there. And if Irving gave the Nets a few teams he'd be open to playing for, that might be something the team could explore. That's another way they could wind up winning the 2022 title even without Irving in the lineup.

Of course, the cleanest solution from the team's perspective is that he just takes the shot and suits up with his teammates.