Kyrie Irving Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Irving, Nets, Celtics, Bonga

January 2nd, 2022 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Nets coach Steve Nash said Kyrie Irving “looks great, considering” and is “getting close” to making his season debut, according to Peter Botte of The New York Post. Irving, who can only play in road games because he hasn’t complied with New York City’s vaccination requirement, could return Wednesday at Indiana, although Nash hasn’t committed to that date.

“He was in isolation for however many days, 10-plus days, I think. For him to come out of that and look as good as he has playing with the stay ready group and getting his rhythm back has been exciting,” Nash said. “We have to give him time to really get his feet under him, but as far as how he looks, he looks very gifted.”

Irving rejoined the team for practice last week after clearing health and safety protocols. If he doesn’t play Wednesday, the next opportunity will be January 12 at Chicago.

“I think he’s on his way. It’s getting close,” Nash added. “We’ve just got to make sure we don’t make a hasty decision, but it’s coming.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Nash experimented Thursday by starting LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Claxton on the front line alongside Kevin Durant and he may use that super-sized lineup again, Botte adds in a separate story. “That was really my first time being out there with L.A. (Aldridge). We’ll definitely adjust to it once we get more reps in. Hopefully, we go to it a lot in the near future,” Claxton said. “The biggest adjustment is just having another big on the court.”
The Celtics will have to decide soon whether to be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, and the team isn’t making the decision easy for president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, writes Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. After going 6-9 in December, Boston closed out the month by routing the Suns, who have the second-best record in the league. The Celtics are currently in ninth place, part of a logjam of teams between fifth and 12th that are just three and a half games apart.
With Isaac Bonga clearing protocols, the Raptors aren’t currently eligible for any more 10-day hardship contracts, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. The team’s latest injury report lists Bonga as out for today’s game due to conditioning, rather than the health and safety protocols. Today marks the end of Daniel Oturu‘s 10-day deal.

Nets Don’t Expect Kyrie’s Part-Time Availability To Disrupt Continuity

December 31st, 2021 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

When Kyrie Irving returns to the court for the Nets in January, he’ll only be eligible to play in certain games since he remains unvaccinated for COVID-19. New York City’s vaccine mandate will prevent him from playing in Brooklyn or in games at Madison Square Garden. International travel restrictions will also keep him out of road games in Toronto.

However, the Nets don’t expect Irving’s part-time availability to disrupt the team’s continuity, as multiple players and head coach Steve Nash said on Thursday.

“I may be a little naive but I think I just keep it really simple,” Nash said, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. “Kyrie plays on the road and we figure out how he rejoins the group, finds his rhythm, and his place in the team and when we come home we’re back to normal, the way we’ve been all year. So I’m just trying to keep it really simple.”

“He’s a high IQ player,” Kevin Durant said of his All-Star teammate. “It’s just a matter of him getting his legs up under him and his wind up under him. And then for us we’re going to run plays for him, we’ll try to look for him. We play team basketball — but he can adapt and do anything out there so we’re not worried about him.”

It remains unclear when Irving will be ready to make his season debut. He has exited the health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, but continues to work on ramping up his conditioning in advance of his return. The Nets’ next two road games are on January 5 in Indiana and January 12 in Chicago, so those are the most realistic target dates for Kyrie for now.

Here’s more on Irving and his impending return:

In his first comments to reporters this week, Irving said that he “knew the consequences” of remaining unvaccinated, but “wasn’t prepared for them,” as Mark W. Sanchez of The New York Post writes. Still, Kyrie recognized why the Nets decided to have him remain away from the team for the first couple months of the season. “I understood their decision and respected it,” Irving told reporters, including Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, on Wednesday. “I really had to sit back and think and try not to become too emotionally attached to what they were deciding to do. I had to really evaluate things and see it from their perspective, meaning the organization, my teammates. I really empathized and I understood their choice to say, ‘If you are not going to be fully vaccinated, then you can’t be a full [participant].'”
Nash said on Thursday that he hasn’t talked to Irving about vaccines since the point guard returned to the team, Sanchez writes for The New York Post. “Not since we had those conversations in the preseason,” Nash said. While it would certainly make life easier for the Nets if Irving decides to get vaccinated, it doesn’t sound like the team is pressuring him to do so.
In another article for The New York Post, Sanchez explores how Irving’s return will give the Nets two distinct squads depending on whether or not Kyrie is available.

Eastern Notes: McMillan, Harden, Irving, Rozier, Washington Jr.

December 28th, 2021 at 7:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hawks coach Nate McMillan believes enough is enough and that the NBA should pause the season, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. The Hawks are one of several teams dealing with major COVID-19 issues. “Of course I think that way, but it’s not up to me,” McMillan said. “The league is trying to keep this season going. Of course, it’s really frustrating for us and a lot of other teams.”

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

James Harden is looking forward to getting Kyrie Irving back in the Nets lineup, even on a limited basis, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Irving is expected to see action in some road games sometime next month. “Obviously, we all know how special of a talent Kyrie is and what he means to this organization and our team. So just to be around him, even if it’s only for road games, will be huge for us,” Harden said. “He obviously makes all our jobs a lot easier.”
Hornets guard Terry Rozier admits he needs to step it up on the defensive end, as he told Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). “To be honest, my defense all year just hasn’t been there all year as far as effort,” he said. “I’ll be the first to say it.” Rozier was re-signed to a four-year, $96.26MM extension this summer.
Two-way player Duane Washington Jr. got a chance to play 11 minutes on Sunday due to Pacers backcourt injuries. He contributed two points, two rebounds and two assists. Washington, who has been averaging 19.5 PPG in the G League, took a three-hour bus from Indianapolis to Chicago to play in the game, according to James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star. “He did a nice job for us,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He played with high energy, he moved the ball, he scrambled around defensively, and offensively you’ve got to guard him. He’s a guy that can shoot and make shots. It’s really a great opportunity for him.”

COVID-19 Roundup: Nets, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Knicks, Wizards, Thunder

December 28th, 2021 at 12:52pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA’s new guidelines regarding its health and safety protocols have resulted in several players being released from protocols this morning. The league and its players union agreed Monday to shorten the minimum required quarantine period for a vaccinated COVID-positive players and coaches from 10 days to six.

Here is the latest news on who has entered and cleared protocols today:

Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are out of protocols, as is LaMarcus Aldridge, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. While Durant and Aldridge may be ready for Thursday’s game, Irving is still working his way back into game condition and remains ineligible to play in home games because he hasn’t met New York City’s vaccine requirement.
Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince has cleared protocols and will rejoin the team, but won’t play tonight against the Knicks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Minnesota also gets back Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid (Twitter link).
Cavaliers power forward Evan Mobley has cleared protocols and is set to reunite with the club today, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets that the Cavaliers hope to have Mobley play in tonight’s game against the Pelicans, but will put him through his pregame paces first to gauge his conditioning level.
Unfortunately, just as one of Cleveland’s best players recovers, another will be absent. Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, enjoying a nearly All-Star-level season with Cleveland, has entered the NBA’s coronavirus protocols, tweets Kelsey Russo of The Athletic.
Knicks rookie point guard guard Miles McBride has cleared protocols, the team has announced (via Twitter). New York adds that he has rejoined the team ahead of its game tonight against the Timberwolves.
Veteran Heat power forward Udonis Haslem has entered the league’s coronavirus protocols, writes Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Heat point guard Kyle Lowry is also in protocols. Miami assistant coach Chris Quinn will return to the sidelines, Chiang adds.
Wizards forwards Rui Hachimura and Montrezl Harrell have entered the league’s COVID-19 protocols, joining six other Washington players, the team has announced (Twitter link). Hachimura has missed the Wizards’ entire season thus far due to personal reasons. Among the others, unvaccinated All-Star guard Bradley Beal is still in protocols and Wallace reports that his status is “questionable” prior to the Wizards’ upcoming contest against the Heat tonight. Center Thomas Bryant, wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and guards Anthony Gill, Aaron Holiday and Raul Neto are still in protocols.
Thunder rookie guard Josh Giddey has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Head coach Mark Daigneault has also entered the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, and will be replaced by assistant coach Mike Wilks starting with this evening’s contest against the Kings, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). Wilks, a former journeyman NBA guard, suited up for four games with the Thunder during the 2009/10 season, Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman adds (Twitter link). Players Darius Bazley, Tre Mann, Aleksej Pokusevski, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl remain in the protocols for Oklahoma City.
Keep track of all the players currently in COVID-19 protocols through out our daily tracker.

Arthur Hill contributed to this report.

New York Notes: Harden, Durant, Irving, Grimes, Knicks

December 28th, 2021 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets are feeling good after winning a pair of games in Los Angeles and seeing James Harden playing at an MVP level again, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Harden, who struggled early in the season with the lingering effects of a hamstring injury, had 39 points, 15 assists and 8 rebounds on Monday as Brooklyn pounded the Clippers. The Nets have remained at the top of the East despite playing all season without Kyrie Irving and having Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge in health and safety protocols.

“Confidence is through the roof,” Harden said. “Now just you add KD, and Kai, and LaMarcus and Joe Harris (who’s out after ankle surgery), and that’s four of our best players, four of our top players that are out. Our confidence level for our bench and guys that are in the game is high.”

Harden seems as good as ever after returning last week from his own stay in the protocols. He had 39 points in a Christmas Day win over the Lakers, giving him back-to-back 30-point games for the first time all season.

“I was starting to feel good right before (entering the protocols December 14),” Harden said. “Like body starting to feel good. That break, or COVID, or protocol, or rest, whatever you want to call it, it could have went two ways. I just overly locked in on my body, my eating, and when I was able to start working out, my workouts.”

There’s more from New York:

Coach Steve Nash said “there’s a good chance” Durant will clear protocols in time for Thursday’s game, per Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. Irving’s future is more uncertain because seven of the next nine games are in Brooklyn, where he is ineligible to play because he’s not vaccinated. Nash expects him to need a week or two to get ready once he’s out of protocols. “He’s isolating, so that kinda puts another layer to the ramp-up,” Nash said. “It’s not like he’s been working out. I’d imagine it’s going to be closer to two weeks once he comes out of protocols. We’ll see how it goes though because we have to evaluate him from a physical and performance standpoint, and then a basketball standpoint as well.”
Quentin Grimes is taking advantage of an opportunity with the short-handed Knicks, notes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. The rookie guard hit five three-pointers in two straight games, which came 13 days apart because he spent time in protocols.
Currently tied for 11th in the East at 15-18, the Knicks can boost their playoff hopes with several upcoming games against teams that are dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. Their current road trip includes Minnesota, which has seven players in protocols, Detroit, which is also missing seven players, and Toronto, which is down 10 players and could barely field a team for its last game.

Nets Notes: Harden, Bembry, Durant, Claxton, Irving

December 24th, 2021 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

Nets guard James Harden, who exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Thursday, will be available to play on Christmas Day in Los Angeles vs. the Lakers, head coach Steve Nash said today (Twitter link via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN).

The NBA’s slate of December 25 games will still be lacking some star power – Luka Doncic has been formally ruled out for the Mavericks vs. Utah, tweets Marc Stein – but Harden’s return is welcome news for both the league and the Nets, who played with a skeleton crew during their most recent game last Saturday.

Here’s more news out of Brooklyn:

DeAndre’ Bembry is no longer in the health and safety protocols, Nash said today (Twitter link via Youngmisuk). A total of nine Nets players remain in the protocols, including Kevin Durant, who won’t be available on Christmas Day.
Nicolas Claxton, who had been battling a wrist injury, is good to go for Saturday’s game vs. the Lakers, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. LaMarcus Aldridge is still in the protocols, so Claxton should get plenty of run at the five.
While most Nets players who exit the COVID-19 protocols should be cleared to play pretty quickly, Kyrie Irving – who has been away from the team all season – will require some extra time once his quarantine period ends, Nash said on Thursday. “I think he has to do some sort of ramp-up, some sort of playing, not just [go right in],” Nash said, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “When you’re at home working out by yourself, it’s a lot different.” Since Irving is only eligible to play in the Nets’ road games, he won’t make his season debut before January 5 in Indiana. January 12 in Chicago would be his next opportunity to play if he’s not ready for the Pacers game.

Latest On Kyrie Irving

December 18th, 2021 at 7:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets plan to bring Kyrie Irving back for road games once he clears health and safety protocols, but general manager Sean Marks may not be committed to that as a long-term decision, tweets Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Asked today if the team will continue with Irving as a part-time player when the roster returns to normal, Marks declined to answer, calling the question “hypothetical.”

Brooklyn has been hit hard by COVID-19 in the past week and currently has 10 players in health and safety protocols with tonight’s addition of rookie Day’Ron Sharpe, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. The Nets, who also have Joe Harris sidelined after ankle surgery and Nicolas Claxton sitting out with soreness in his wrist, are missing 12 players for tonight’s game with Orlando. They signed four players this week with hardship exceptions to fill out their roster.

Marks admits the extreme shortage of personnel was behind the decision to let Irving start playing again, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, although he’s still ineligible for home games because he hasn’t met New York City’s vaccine requirement.

“Several months ago we made a decision that was based around what was best for the team,” Marks said. “What was best for the team at that point was continuity and I think we all see that continuity right now over the course of the last week and whatever the future looks like may be out the window for a while, and we’ve got to navigate that as best we can.”

Irving was placed in the league’s health and safety protocols earlier today, which means he either tested positive for the virus or returned an inconclusive result. Marks said he hasn’t appealed to Irving to get vaccinated or tried to change his mind about the issue, Reynolds adds.

“There’s also a risk for Kyrie when a guy comes in and if they’re not vaccinated,” Marks said. “I don’t want to get into those type of discussions, but that’s a risk for him coming into this environment, not just the team and so forth. But we’re all well aware of the status and his status and moving forward and how we’ll navigate this as best we can.”

Coach Steve Nash echoed Marks’ comments in a pre-game meeting with reporters, saying the original decision on Irving was based on continuity, but “continuity’s out the window now,” tweets David Aldridge of The Athletic.

“I’m excited to have Kyrie back,” Nash continued (Twitter link from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype). “He’s an incredible player, no matter what capacity. We’ll incorporate him in. It’s a positive for our group.”

Owner Joe Tsai also spoke about the thinking behind the reversal on Irving, telling Brian Lewis of The New York Post that the decision was made solely for basketball reasons and isn’t an attempt to make a statement about the vaccine mandate.

“We’re trying to be practical. And I’ve always said I don’t want to make this a political issue,” Tsai said. “My only religion is to win games and win the championship. That’s where we are.”

Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving Enter Protocols

December 18th, 2021 at 11:51am CST by Dana Gauruder

11:51am: Irving has now been placed in the league’s health and safety protocols, making him the ninth Nets player on the list.

According to Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News (Twitter link), the typical testing process for Irving to rejoin the team wouldn’t have required him to be entered into the protocols, so he registered either a positive or inconclusive test.

Irving needs five consecutive days of negative tests to join the team for practices, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

10:38 am: Nets superstar Kevin Durant has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Durant has tested positive on multiple occasions over the past two years. He had his own bout with the virus shortly after the pandemic struck. He missed three games last January after testing positive and missed three more in February after being deemed a close contact.

Durant has been playing at an MVP level, carrying the team through its current COVID crisis. He’s averaging 33.1 PPG, 9.0 RPG and 6.7 APG this month for a team currently on a four-game winning streak.

Brooklyn, which has the Eastern Conference’s top record, also has seven other players on the protocols list. That group includes LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre’ Bembry, Bruce Brown, Jevon Carter, James Harden, James Johnson and Paul Millsap.

The Nets have been scrambling to have enough players in uniform. They announced on Saturday that James Ennis and Shaquille Harrison have been signed to 10-day contracts using the hardship exemption. Langston Galloway was previous signed under the same conditions.

They also announced on Friday that Kyrie Irving would return to the team and play in road games.

Nets To Allow Kyrie Irving To Return As Part-Time Player

December 17th, 2021 at 6:08pm CST by Luke Adams

6:08 PM: Nets GM Sean Marks has released a statement regarding Irving’s return:

“After discussions with our coaches, players and staff, the organization has decided to have Kyrie Irving re-join the team for games and practices in which he is eligible to participate. We arrived at this decision with the full support of our players and after careful consideration of our current circumstances, including players missing games due to injuries and health and safety protocols.

“We believe that the addition of Kyrie will not only make us a better team but allow us to more optimally balance the physical demand on the entire roster. We look forward to Kyrie’s return to the lineup, as well as getting our entire roster back together on the court.”

4:10 PM: The Nets have reconsidered their stance to hold Kyrie Irving out of action indefinitely and have begun the process of reintegrating him as a part-time player, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

As Wojnarowski explains, the Nets have been hit hard by injuries and COVID-19 cases and find themselves leaning heavily on their stars, including Kevin Durant, who is averaging 37.0 minutes per game, his highest minutes average in eight seasons. As a result, Brooklyn has decided to allow Irving to play in road games to help ease the burden on the rest of the roster.

The Nets had initially made the decision during the preseason to have Irving remain away from the team, since he was unvaccinated and was ineligible to practice or play games in New York due to the city’s vaccine mandate. Management and ownership deemed it untenable to have Kyrie only active on the road. Two months later, the team is reversing that stance.

Irving is still unvaccinated, so he remains ineligible to play in games in New York, including the Nets’ home games and away games vs. the Knicks. He also won’t be able to travel to Canada to face the Raptors. However, he will be eligible to play in Brooklyn’s other games on the road.

According to Woj (via Twitter), Irving’s return isn’t imminent. He’ll have to pass a series of COVID-19 tests before he’s cleared to return to team workouts, then he may require a little time to get back into game shape.

Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links) first reported that Irving is beginning the ramp-up process toward making his season debut, adding that he’s expected to practice with the Nets in the coming days. Nets owner Joe Tsai, GM Sean Marks, head coach Steve Nash, and key players on the team all support the decision, tweets Wojnarowski.

It remains to be seen what the long-term plan for Irving is. While having him available for about half the Nets’ games should help provide a boost in the short term, it’s hard to imagine the team will be happy only having him available on the road once the playoffs arrive. That’s still a few months away though, so the two sides have some time to figure things out.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Kyrie, Knicks Trade Possibilities, Frazier

December 14th, 2021 at 8:25pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Celtics are trying to fight through what has been an uneven start to their 2021/22 season on both sides of the ball, writes Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Under new head coach Ime Udoka and head coach-turned-team-president Brad Stevens, Boston is currently the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 14-14 record thus far.

“Obviously we’re coming back from a tough stretch,” wing Jaylen Brown said, in reference to a recent 1-4 Celtics road swing. “We’ve got to just take care of business and take it one game at a time and just get back to playing basketball the right way and keep moving in the right direction.”

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Though reports this week suggested there’s optimism about Kyrie Irving potentially returning to the Nets, head coach Steve Nash hasn’t heard any news to that effect, writes Adam Zagoria of Forbes. “I have no updates,” Nash said on Tuesday. “We connected last week, but not with any intel or any insight that things are changing… I know he’s working out and he’d love to be playing but I think the boundaries are still the same as they were before recent reports.” Irving, who is unvaccinated against COVID-19, is not allowed to play on his home court in accordance with local ordinances. Brooklyn opted to shut Irving down completely rather than essentially only allow him to play with the Nets for road games in cities with more lenient coronavirus policies.
With the 12-15 Knicks struggling to start their 2021/22 season, Fred Katz of The Athletic discussed some trade possibilities in a recent reader mailbag. Among Katz’s preferred big-ticket targets are Pacers center Myles Turner and Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox. Katz also suggested that reserve point guards along the lines of Dennis Schröder, Jalen Brunson and Eric Bledsoe could fit well in New York.
Longtime MSG Network Knicks television broadcaster (and Hall of Fame shooting guard) Walt Frazier has entered COVID-19 health and safety protocols, per Marc Berman of the New York Post. Knicks players Obi Toppin, RJ Barrett and Quentin Grimes are also all sidelined in the NBA’s coronavirus protocols. In his playing days, the now-76-year-old Frazier was a seven-time All-Star with the Knicks, with whom he won two titles.