“Kyrie is messing up the whole game plan for the Nets!” – Kendrick Perkins on Kyrie Irving’s vax stance possibly causing the end of the Brooklyn Nets’ Big 3
Brooklyn Nets’ All-Star guard Kyrie Irving is still refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. His stance has caused a league-wide sensation and curiosity because the mercurial point guard could miss the Nets’ home games and road games against the New York Knicks. How this will affect the Nets this year and the succeeding years is anybody’s guess.
In an episode of ESPN’s First Take, Kendrick Perkins, a former NBA player, is emphasizing that Irving’s refusal to get the vaccine could break up the Brooklyn Nets Big 3 sooner than expected. Here's what Perkins had to say:
“Kyrie is messing up the whole game plan for the Nets! The whole plan was for all three of (KD, Kyrie and Harden) to be signed under contract extensions going into this season. Kevin Durant has signed his contract extension. Kyrie Irving was supposed to be next…He’s holding up the whole process because James Harden was supposed to sign right after him.”
Perkins added that because of the uncertainties surrounding Irving, James Harden could decide to test the free agency market. If that happens, there will be no shortage of suitors for The Beard. Perkins continued that although Durant has had Kyrie’s back all this time, he might want to confront Irving because James Harden’s contract with the Nets is on the line.
Forget teammates, If a guy is willing to burn the house down and everything in it to make a point, he ain’t ya Patna!
If KD doesn’t step up on this Kyrie stuff, it’s gonna cost em everything they’ve built, including James Harden! Carry on… twitter.com/firsttake/stat…
Kendrick Perkins finished his explanation with these words:
Ultimately, this comes down to what does Kevin Durant want? Does he want to continue to be friends with Kyrie Irving? Hold him accountable? Or, he says, I got James Harden, this other killer in front of me. Kyrie, if you don’t want to get down with the program, we move forward.”
What is currently an anti-vax stance that is publicly supported by KD and Harden could prove to be the beginning of the end of the Brooklyn Nets’ Big 3 if things escalate out of control.
The season can't come soon enough for Brooklyn Nets fans with all the drama surrounding Kyrie Irving.
Is there an end in sight to Kyrie Irving’s anti-vaccination stance?
It seems like that even with the estimated loss of $380,000 per game, Kyrie Irving will continue to refuse the vaccination. His stance will be a test for Steve Nash as the Brooklyn Nets are not planning to hold practices outside of New York to accommodate Irving.
There had been previous optimism Irving would get vaccinated and fulfill local mandates, but that hope is waning and Irving’s continued resistance to vaccination has Nets preparing for possibility they’ll be without him for home practices and games for foreseeable future. twitter.com/wojespn/status…
At some point, the amicable relationship between the front office and Brooklyn's starting shooting guard could be heavily tested. In addition to potentially missing almost three weeks of practice and games between November and December, the front office and the coaching staff will have to consider how Irving’s availability could affect the chemistry and dynamics of the team.