Brooklyn Nets superstar point guard Kyrie Irving is hopeful he can return to the Nets' lineup within a week.
Irving has played in just 11 games this season for the Nets. He's been out since Nov. 14 due to a right shoulder impingement:
“We just see where we end up in the next few days,” Kyrie Irving said Thursday, via Malika Andrews of ESPN. “Realistically, we will reevaluate tomorrow. See how I feel tomorrow. Then go Saturday — probably another practice.
“Hopefully I get some game reps in addition to practice probably in the next week or so. It could be less than that, but I'll give myself a week.”
Irving is averaging 28.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists this season for the Nets while shooting 44.4 percent from the field, 34.1 percent from beyond the arc and 93.7 percent from the free-throw line.
After playing for the Boston Celtics the past two seasons, Irving signed a four-year, $136.5 million deal with the Nets in free agency this past summer. He and Kevin Durant took less than the max so the Nets could sign DeAndre Jordan as well.
Irving and Durant converted a chunk of their salaries into performance-based bonuses to create room for Jordan, but Irving is going to miss out on his share due to his shoulder injury. According to Bobby Marks of ESPN, Irving will miss out on two bonuses of $125,000 for falling short of playing 60 games this season for the Nets.
Brooklyn fans certainly can’t wait to get Irving back in the lineup. He returned to practice Thursday, which is a good sign he's close to playing again.
Brooklyn is 16-20 on the season, in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Follow Us
Subscribe