Irving Back With Nets? Not So Fast
Shams Charania of The Athletic sent Nets fans into a tizzy with his report on Monday about the “renewed optimism” that Kyrie Irving would return to the court. Brooklyn’s superstar guard has been effectively banned from all team activities until he chooses to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
While I don’t doubt Charania’s reporting, his column reads more like it came from sources with agendas, such as agents and others close to players rather than anyone from the Nets’ organization. I have no doubt that Kevin Durant, who is playing like an MVP frontrunner in the early part of this season, is communicating with Irving through back channels in an attempt to come up with a workaround, but that’s a long way away from having Irving don his number 11 Brooklyn uniform on an NBA court.
Remember, the hurdle that Irving must overcome is not from the league, but New York City Executive Order 225, which compels City-based performers to be vaccinated. That order isn’t going anywhere and, in fact, as a parting gift from outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio, all private sector employees in the City will be required to ensure that their employees are vaccinated effective December 27. So the loophole that allowed Irving to work out at the Nets’ practice facility because it was deemed “an office” would also vanish.
Nets owner Joseph Tsai and General Manager Sean Marks have been quite staunch in their opposition to the theory of Irving “The Part-Time Player”, where he would only play road games in cities that allowed unvaccinated performers. I can’t imagine them changing their tune knowing now that Irving would soon also be locked out of practices and team meetings at home.
Ergo, the only solution would be for Irving to relent and get vaccinated, of which there have been zero indications of it happening any time soon. Other reporters and Charania himself have written not that long ago about Irving’s willingness to play this out indefinitely, with one’s source going so far as to say that Irving is “the happiest” he’s seen him in years.
And why wouldn’t he be? Irving found a way to get paid about $27 million (including his Nike contract) while hanging out and going about as he pleases.
Until we hear from Irving or Brooklyn’s brass, color me skeptical. Not that I’m in the habit of offering critiques of my former colleagues on the Nets beat—without exception, all of the reporters who cover this team on a daily basis are terrific professionals and, more importantly, wonderful people—but I do wish they’d be more forceful in their queries to Head Coach Steve Nash, who, fair or unfair, is the face of management.
For instance, the obvious follow-up to Nash’s standard line that he and Irving “don’t talk about basketball” is, “Why not?”
Irving should get vaccinated as a simple public health measure but his resistance is also impairing his team. How effectively has that been communicated to Kyrie and what was his response? The Nets may be 19-8 and in the top spot in the Eastern Conference, but even Nash would admit that the club as currently constructed isn’t yet in elite company.
The whole plan was based on a three-star system, with Durant, Irving, and James Harden forming an unprecedented Big 3 in terms of sheer offensive talent. With Irving off the grid, Brooklyn needs nights like KD’s 51-point outburst on Sunday to get past lowly Detroit. That’s not what any of these players signed up for.
Charania noted that Nash and his teammates would welcome Irving back anytime, but right now at least some of them have to feel a little betrayed. I haven’t heard every one of Brooklyn’s press conferences but I don’t believe such a question has ever been asked, nor has there been any on why the organization can’t get through to Irving with regard to his false beliefs about the vaccine.
It's possible that the Nets’ higher-ups really have talked with Irving about such private matters and don’t want to share the details of those discussions because maybe it would subject Irving to further ridicule. To that I say that this is not a private matter. Again, not just for public safety but think of all the ticketholders who forked over their hard-earned dollars for a potentially historic run only to be told, “Oh well.” They deserve better.
For folks who chirp at me about the limited power of the vaccines, that it doesn’t wipe out all infections, I refer you to the latest study out of the United Kingdom. While it’s true that the effectiveness of the original two-dose MRNA and one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines wane over time, especially since the advent of the Delta variant, those who have been boosted with an additional dose were 93% less likely to have a symptomatic infection. So while that’s still not 100%, if that’s stopping about 14 out of 15 people from getting sick, we should all just take the vaccine, plus the booster (Side note: Unless the NBA adjusts their definition of “fully-vaccinated” to include boosters, expect COVID clusters to create more schedule disruptions like what’s happening in Chicago).
It would be different if Irving had a real excuse to reject the jab, like being immuno-compromised and under a doctor’s care, but he doesn’t. Oh, he once mentioned something in an Instagram post before the season started about how he wants to be “a voice for the voiceless” souls who lost jobs due to vaccine mandates, which was so silly that he may have walked it back to clarify that he’s waiting on a “plant-based” vaccine that’s still in development that he trusts to put into his body, if you believe recent reports. (FYI, none of the vaccines contain any ingredient that comes from animals).
In other words, Irving has no excuse, and he and certain people around the team just might be testing the waters for a way for him to save face. Why should that make a Nets fan optimistic?