Kyrie Irving Rumors: Brooklyn Nets not assuming that point guard will change stance on vaccination
Kyrie Irving's situation with the Brooklyn Nets has made major international headlines. He is now the face of the vaccination saga and even politicians and celebrities have expressed their opinion regarding the matter. Irving is unwilling to get the COVID-19 vaccine and as a consequence has to be ruled out of the upcoming NBA season.
The Brooklyn Nets are now no longer holding out hope that the seven-time All-Star will change his mind and get vaccinated. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski spoke about the situation in Brooklyn on his podcast, The Woj Pod. He said,
"This is a team now who start proceeding with the idea that [Kyrie Irving] is not going to be there. We'll see if he changes course and...at some point gets vaccinated and can come back to play but right now, they are not assuming that he will"
The Brooklyn Nets play in New York City, which has strict COVID-19 laws that prevent unvaccinated players from playing in indoor arenas. Irving's decision not to get the vaccine instantly ruled him out of all 41 home games and two road games against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The Nets had a chance to play 39 road games with Irving but they decided that he cannot participate in any practice or game until he gets at least one dose of the vaccine.
Irving must be vaccinated against COVID-19 before he can be a full participant with the team. NY requires players to have at least one dose of the vaccine. twitter.com/malika_andrews…
It is understandable why GM Sean Marks made this decision. They decided that it wasn't worth keeping a part-time player on the roster and they want someone who can commit to their championship quest on a full-time basis. Hence, Irving is officially out of the lineup until further notice and the Brooklyn Nets move on without him for the time being.
Kyrie Irving's future with the Brooklyn Nets is not guaranteed
Adrian Wojnarowski mentioned that Kyrie's situation is tricky because no team would trade for him. He is clearly labeled as a toxic locker room influence and has not been available for his team whenever they need him. In his past two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets, in 2019-20 and 2020-21, he appeared in 74 games for the team and missed 70 due to personal reasons, injuries and refusal to play in the Orlando Bubble, among other things. That's a roughly 50-50 split between missing and playing games. Kyrie Irving once didn't report to a game or practice without even informing his head coach, Steve Nash.
Adrian Wojnarowski said he believes Irving became expendable once James Harden arrived in Brooklyn. Irving's antics and idiosyncrasies have made it easy for the Nets organization to part ways with the player, albeit temporarily. They believe they have a championship roster even without him, with Kevin Durant and Harden. The Brooklyn Nets will now no longer offer Irving the max extension.
Durant has accepted that Kyrie Irving might not return for the team, saying,
"What is being mad going to do? We're not going to change his mind"
"What is being mad going to do? We're not going to change his mind...life is amazing so I can't be too mad at somebody making a decision for themselves"
Kevin Durant explains why the Nets aren't upset about Kyrie Irving being absent from the Nets https://t.co/QFBwDMWXly
Moreover, the team wouldn't trade Kyrie Irving because his agents reportedly said that the All-Star guard would "simply retire" if the Nets tried to trade him. Hence, a team will not willingly give up assets for a player who is just going to announce his retirement.
However, Kyrie Irving addressed the situation on Instagram Live, saying he isn't going to retire from the NBA and isn't going to jeopardize his dream to win a championship because of vaccine mandates.
“Do you think I really want to lose money? You think I really want to give up on my dream to go after a championship? You think I just really want to give up my job? You think I really just want to sit at home and not going after the things with my teammates…”
- Kyrie https://t.co/gV6BDK357j
Only time will tell if Kyrie Irving returns to the Brooklyn Nets. They begin their 2021-22 NBA season with a matchup against the reigning champions, Milwaukee Bucks on October 19th, 2021.