The Nets still aren’t certain whether or not guard Kyrie Irving intends to get the COVID-19 vaccine and haven’t made a decision about whether they’ll accommodate him as a part-time player this season, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst.
In order to enter public indoor venues in New York City, individuals must have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. Irving, who deflected questions about the subject last week, reportedly hasn’t been vaccinated and would be unable to play in home games or participate in Nets practices as long as he remains unvaccinated.
As Wojnarowski and Windhorst explain, the Nets had been optimistic entering the fall that Irving would ultimately get vaccinated and would be fully available, but that optimism has waned as of late. The seven-time All-Star missed the team’s first practice in Brooklyn on Tuesday and the club is now preparing for the possibility that it could be without him for practices and home games for the foreseeable future, per ESPN’s duo.
The Nets have publicly expressed support for Irving, but the organization’s patience may be tested if and when the star point guard starts missing games. Team owner Joe Tsai made comments last week reiterating that the goal is a championship and stating that he hopes to see Kyrie “play fully” in 2021/22.
If Irving remains unvaccinated, the Nets may soon have to decide whether they’re satisfied to have him with the team on and off for half the season or if they’ll keep him sidelined altogether, sources tell Wojnarowski and Windhorst. As Woj and Windhorst point out, Brooklyn’s schedule includes a handful of lengthy homestands, meaning there are times throughout the season when Irving wouldn’t be able to be around his teammates for a week or more at a time.
While ESPN’s report doesn’t explicitly state that a trade is a possibility for Irving, that’s one option the Nets could theoretically consider — New York and San Francisco are the only NBA cities with local vaccine mandates, so Irving would be able to remain unvaccinated and play in all of his home games if he were sent to any team besides the Knicks or Warriors.
Still, Irving is close with Nets stars Kevin Durant and James Harden, and the team has expressed interest in signing him to a contract extension, so moving him would represent a pretty drastic change of direction for a club with championship aspirations. It’s also not clear what sort of value Irving would have on the trade market at this point, given the various off-court dramas that have followed him in recent years.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, remaining unvaccinated would cost Irving significantly from a financial perspective. The 29-year-old has a base salary of nearly $35MM this season, but would lose about $381K for each game he misses due to New York’s vaccine mandate. That would add up to more than $17MM in lost salary over the course of the season after taking into account preseason contests, Nets home games, and Brooklyn’s two games at Madison Square Garden.
He still believes the earth is flat!!! Google it.
Kyrie for Ben Simmons
kyrie to philly and simmons to brooklyn. getter done
Not that it would happen, but I think he wouldn’t be able to play in Toronto…or at least there would be border/quarantine issues.
I know there’s a “national interest exemption” that will allow unvaccinated visiting players to cross the border to Canada and play as long as they register a negative test and don’t go anywhere besides the arena and the team hotel.
I haven’t seen confirmation that the rule would apply to home players as well, but that’s my assumption for now, since no basketball writers seem to be mentioning Toronto alongside NYC and SF.
If you play in New York….how many games would you get to play?
Miss all your home games, knicks too, plus any games in CA….any other states with mandates?
He’d play in like 25 games right?
Nah CA rules only apply to home players. And its not CA, just the city the Warriors are in.
The city of Golden
Golden State City, California, the town and burg we all know and love.
So… trade Ben Simmons for an injury riddled head case that can’t play in half the road arenas? and may choose not to even play again? Dude could retire tomorrow because the sky was a certain color.
How does that help the situation? I’d argue Kyrie’s situation is worse than Ben Simmons. At least Ben wants to play, but is a toddler emotionally and he shoots like one too. But teams value him, because they see the upside. We know what Kyrie is – All Star, great shooter, handler, etc…, but no clue what you’d actually get from him. I think if you pair Kyrie with Jo, Tobias, etc… you’re in the ECF at worst. And if he flakes out, you’re in the same position you’re in with Ben now, but no remaining options.
I’m not sure teams value Simmons, if you’re not a CA team you may have to give up assets so he can pull a Jimmy Butler?
Not that I necessarily endorse a Kyrie/Simmons trade, but my understanding is that Irving could play in all 82 games if he were a Sixer. For now only NYC and SF have vaccine mandates and they don’t apply to visiting players.
@luke
that exception is sooooooo stupid. so everyone has to be vaccinated in those two cities except the millionaire out of town player whos allowed to expose me to the disease? I get it, that they’re all vaccinated and less likely to catch it but sort of defeats the purpose of mandating the home team players too.
Kyrie is going to expose you to the disease?
@slapnuts
Im not saying that but why do you think they have this rule fam? just to see if you belong to this nifty club?
You literally said “allowed to expose me to the disease”. So You ARE saying that. Also, NY is one of the only 2 cities in the NBA to enact this “rule”. And it happens to be 2 of the most liberal cities in the country. And it only applies to people who work in those cities. Are you implying that people who work in those cities are at a higher risk of contracting the virus than everybody else in the country? The logic behind your original post, much like the logic behind this asinine “rule”, is lacking. Severely
I didn’t realize visiting teams didn’t have the requirement. I too am dumbfounded by that.
The people making these covid rules don’t give a rat’s ass about the NBA and why should they. It’s a small world, pro BB, now matter how loud the fans get. Nobody is asking phillyballers or KFCF whether the rules appeal to their logic and interests.
That darn covid, it should have called first and scheduled.
Let’s have KI show up regardless and get cuffed & removed by officers in hazmats. That would please everyone’s agenda & stances.
DXC publicity is also involved. You cannot say you have a rule if NBA players get to spurn it. It becomes harder to enforce when nobody wants to have to physically enforce it.
@Luke Adams, the vaccine mandates don’t apply to visiting players…so, will Kyrie be able to play in Madison Square Garden? He’ll be a visiting player. Sorry if my question comes off as tone deaf..
I believe that since Irving is based in New York and the Knicks’ arena is also in New York, he wouldn’t be considered a “visiting” player for those games. In this context, a “visiting” player is someone coming in from out of town rather than just a player on the road team.
This is all new, so I’m not 1000% positive about that, but everything I’ve read suggests he wouldn’t be able to play in those two MSG games.
Yes. Exemption is limited to non-residents of NYC.
Kyrie only thinks of himself finding ways to miss games like he did in the past. He just doesn’t care at all. Send him to Minnesota or Oklahoma City.
He’s done his research.
No way he forfeits 15m + he will get traded or get the shots
Trade Kyrie or Russ ? Lol
Kyrie back with LeBron at the Lakers. Would be the perfect fit for their need of spacing.
Russ back to KD and Harden lol. At least he will be vaccinated and play games. Plus isn’t a totally head case.
KI#DramaQueen
Kyrie is the man! Keep up the good work, man!
It’s up to the person whether to get vaccinated or not, but Kyrie being player of this hot button topic IS NOT surprising.
Nets will not trade him.
Simmons for Irving would be interesting though…..
Hope that the Nets don’t have to pay Irving for games that he misses due to not receiving the vaccine.
The Nets not being “certain” is the ridiculous part of this. The rule has been out there awhile. It’s not an NBA rule, so there’s no appeal (outside of a decade long court case). KI needs to Decide; if only for the sake of his team and teammates. Tsai is committed to paying 100’s of millions in luxury tax which the Nets can’t fund from operations. Apparently, that doesn’t even buy him a clear answer on whether KI will show up.
Her job’s tables!
What a great team mate Kyrie is.
The Nets and their big 2 and and a half men