Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving could lose roughly $1.23 million in salary if he's found to have violated the NBA's health and safety protocols.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, if Irving is forced to enter “mandated isolation” due to breach of protocol, he would face a $410,000 salary reduction per game missed.
If Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving is found to have violated league health/safety protocols, he's facing a proportional game reduction of 1/81.6 of his salary – $410K per game. He would forfeit that money for every game lost because of a mandated isolation. League's probing video now.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 12, 2021
Irving has missed the Nets' last four games for “personal reasons,” and he was reported to have gone “off the grid.”
On Monday, videos surfaced showing the All-Star at a large, mask-less, indoor gathering with his family and a host of others in celebration of his sister and father's birthdays.
Check the vide below:
Videos have surfaced of Kyrie Irving at a large birthday gathering alongside his sister, Asia.
Kyrie’s sister & dad have birthdays this week.
Given the size of the gathering & now public nature of it, Kyrie might now have to undergo a quarantine period before returning. https://t.co/McrYtFH9XK pic.twitter.com/U4T1KAvMTl
— Billy Reinhardt (@BillyReinhardt) January 12, 2021
An online probe from Rob Perez seemed to confirm that the video of the Nets star is only recent.
Wobvestigation: the facts surrounding the leaked Kyrie Irving video pic.twitter.com/ZSH5MeshHx
— 🚁Sky Wob🚁 (@WorldWideWob) January 12, 2021
As Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews reported, Irving is unlikely to return to the court this week as the league investigates the video.
Sources with @Malika_Andrews: As the NBA is expected to begin examining online videos circulating of a maskless Kyrie Irving at a family birthday party, there’s no belief that he will return to the Brooklyn Nets lineup this week.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 12, 2021
The NBA's rules forbid players from going to indoor parties and attending gatherings with 15 people or more.
Irving last played on Jan. 5 against the Utah Jazz. The Nets face the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, the New York Knicks on Wednesday, followed by matchups against the Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks.
“I won’t speak on Kyrie. I’ll let him do that for himself,” Kevin Durant said after the Nets' loss on Sunday, via SNY. “I’m sure you guys will see him soon whenever he comes back. We support him 100 percent and pray for the best.”
On Tuesday, Nets general manager Sean Marks issued his first public comments on the video.
“We are aware of a video on social media featuring Kyrie Irving at a family gathering. We are reviewing the circumstances with both Kyrie and the NBA in order to determine compliance with health and safety protocols.”
“Kyrie will have the opportunity to address his absence when he is ready to do so,” Marks said.
Nets GM Sean Marks statement on Kyrie Irving pic.twitter.com/TBTjF9QGRr
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 12, 2021
In seven games in his second season with the Nets, Irving has averaged 27.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists per games. He played just 20 games in 2019-20 before a shoulder injury ended his season pre-hiatus.
Irving signed a four-year, $136.5 million deal with the Nets in July of 2019. Brooklyn is 5-6 on the season entering Tuesday after a hot start.
Follow Us
Subscribe