Brooklyn is confused. There was optimism within the organization that Kyrie Irving would end up getting vaccinated, which would allow him to be with the team full time. However, the days continue to pass and they are already facing a scenario in which they should accept to host the point guard part-time or, perhaps, make some difficult decision regarding the future of their player.
Nervousness is growing in New York territory as much as uncertainty is fueled by Irving. The franchise believes that it has taken the right steps by listening to its All-Star, having supported him at all times and giving him the opportune information so that he understood the advantages of inoculation and how important it was for the team. The point is that the situation seems to have been frozen and according to information from ESPN the team’s patience can reach its limits over time.
The reality is that the Nets are preparing for the possibility that they will have to face practice and home games without Irving; that yes, maintaining the possibility of denying that this ends up happening. After the last training session in New York, in which he was not point guard, Steve Nash came to be questioned as to whether they would change the place where they exercise in order to accommodate Irving. The head coach He was categorical in rejecting such an idea. For now we are talking about a day but … and what lies ahead?
For the remainder of the preseason the Nets are scheduled to spend just one day on the road to face Philadelphia, which means Irving could only train or play for the team once in 10 days. Such a circumstance would be repeated several times during the regular season, since shortly after starting Brooklyn it will have up to six consecutive home games, which would set Irving aside for 11 days … Already at the end of the year, between November and December, the franchise has scheduled 20 of 26 days in New York… Yes, it is a real madness how long Kyrie would be away from his companions.
Losing $ 380,000 a night
That’s how it is. The NBA announced a week ago that unvaccinated players would say goodbye to the salary corresponding to each game not played. In the specific case of Irving we are talking about $ 380,000 that would fly every time the Nets played at home and he could not be on the floor, since he has an annual salary of $ 35.3 million. Whether for this reason or because of not being able to play, Andrew Wiggins has ended up getting vaccinated. It’s time to wait to see if Kyrie will do the same.
Because in Irving’s case it seems that neither the pocket nor a ring on the horizon is causing his route to vary the least. Last season he was already absent on several occasions for personal reasons (conversion to Islam) and was fined for not attending the media. In Brooklyn they begin to be somewhat uncomfortable due to their extra-sporting problems.
Durant and Harden, couple contender
Here’s another piece of the puzzle. The Nets continue to see themselves as a championship contender if their roster ends up narrowing to two stars such as Kevin Durant and James Harden. That is why Irving’s future on the team is becoming more uncertain every day. With a contract that ends next summer at the expense of a player option, Brooklyn would have already initiated contacts to close an extension with the point guard. However, this has not yet occurred and at the moment it seems even distant. Adrian Wojnarowski talks about the possibility that the organization will end up making difficult decisions, a veiled way of commenting that a short-term transfer is not out of the question. Meanwhile, the owner of the franchise, Joe Tsai, sent a clear message assuring that he hopes to see Irving play every game. Nothing is clear at the moment except that Irving has an entire team on edge, from the offices to the Nash board.
