Did you feel the earth just tremble? On Friday we got a monster update on the Brooklyn Nets. It has been reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic that Kyrie Irving is ramping up for a return to the basketball court.
Just in: All-NBA star Kyrie Irving has started process to return to the Brooklyn Nets, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Irving is ramping up, has begun team COVID-19 testing, and his season debut date is still to be determined.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 17, 2021
There was no language in that original update from Shams about what specifically might be changing here. But then ESPN Insider, Adrian Wojnarowski weighed in and clarified.
So far, Irving has been unwilling satisfy New York City mandates and become vaccinated to play home games, but the turbulence of the ongoing NBA season has caused the organization to reconsider their preseason decision to fully sideline Irving, sources said. https://t.co/OdfJT6Kd26
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 17, 2021
So there it is.
To recap, Irving has been unwilling to get vaccinated. That has precluded him from appearing in home games and practicing with the New York City-based team. While the 2016 NBA champion is eligible to play in road games, the Nets decided back in early October they don't want to accommodate part-time players around their club.
It sounds like the combination of breakthrough COVID cases (ironically) and heavy minute burdens on stars Kevin Durant and James Harden have changed their minds on that point.
“Nets owner Joe Tsai, general manager Sean Marks, coach Steve Nash and key players were fully supportive of the idea — and Irving has been eager to return to play in the team's away games, sources said. Irving can start practicing at team facility.”
James Harden, James Johnson, Paul Millsap, LaMarcus Aldridge, Bruce Brown, Jevon Carter, and DeAndre' Bembry are all in health and safety protocols after returning positive COVID tests. Did all of these cases cause the Nets to basically say “well vaccination status isn't everything we had once hoped so let's reassess?”
Despite the upheaval and challenges this year, the Nets sit in first place at 21-8. Kevin Durant has been absolutely wrecking defenses, leading the NBA in total points with 29.7 PPG. But Easy Money Sniper has been playing the most minutes per outing since his MVP season in 2013-2014. Coach Steve Nash has suggested he's not at all comfortable with Durant's minutes total.
This quote Nash gave following the rash of positive cases feels like it has more meaning now that we know what the team has decided. “It’s a really important topic,” admitted Nash, regarding the minutes and scoring burden KD has undertaken. “I don’t know if we can continue to lean on him the way we have. It doesn’t feel right.”
Did Kevin Durant use his MVP-level influence to persuade Governors Joe and Clara Wu Tsai to let Irving appear in road games? Spitballing here, but is there any possibility that the Nets have a blockbuster trade lined up and hope to simply showcase Irving is still in shape before executing a deal?
The following statement has been released by General Manager Sean Marks: pic.twitter.com/DAldOYe4nj
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 18, 2021
My read here is this: this team now understands that if they continue the way they have they'll burn out their star, who had major surgery on his Achilles not long ago. Making a concession here for Irving is not ideal, but that's in principle. They're operating in the dystopian reality that their organizational goal is to win a championship in the midst of a raging pandemic. And it's not going to be pretty or without some risk.
They may feel this increases potential locker room exposure, introducing an unvaccinated player around the others. But exposure is a risk they now face anyway. The Nets may have calculated that having had COVID, and being mostly vaccinated, they may have some reasonably potent immunity moving forwards.
But this decision sounds like it is about championships, and making sure they're doing all they can to help one of the greatest athletes ever win another title before burning himself out. We can debate the merits of the decision another day. The team has 27 road games left and most of them are in cities where Irving is eligible to play. The Nets title odds just jumped back up.
Follow Us
Subscribe