The short-lived Brooklyn Nets Big Three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden completely went up in flames when Harden was shipped to the Philadelphia 76ers. One is only left to wonder what could have been for the Nets had Irving only let himself get vaccinated against COVID-19 that would have ensured his full participation, regardless of game location.

The original decision by the Nets was that Irving would not be allowed to play unless he gets jabbed, but Brooklyn later sang a different tune, allowing the point guard to play only in road games. That change in stance apparently was influenced by Durant, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

Kyrie Irving only returned to Brooklyn's road lineups after Durant lobbied to scrap the organization's stance that, to play, Irving needed to comply with New York City's coronavirus vaccination requirements, sources told B/R.

Irving is the only active superstar at the moment for the Nets, but he's playing only part-time still., Durant has not played since January because of a knee problem. This has put the Nets in a precarious spot, as they can't fully play to their true potential during this critical portion of the season. Brooklyn has won just once over its last 12 games, and that's with Irving playing in a bunch as eight of those contests were on the road.