KYRIE RULED OUT
Nets can’t say why, but it’s likely because he hasn’t been vaccinated
It’s official.
Nets star point guard and COVID-19 vaccine holdout Kyrie Irving has been ruled ineligible by the team for Friday’s preseason contest against the Bucks at the Barclays Center.
The team’s announcement is the latest in a number of indicators that Irving has not received at least one dose of an approved vaccine.
The Nets are prevented by law from revealing whether he has been vaccinated, but listed him as “ineligible to play” in the injury report for their preseason game Friday against Milwaukee.
There is nothing related to the NBA that would cause a player to have that designation.
If Irving were to remain unvaccinated through the regular season, he would miss the Nets’ 41 home games in Brooklyn as well as two road contests with the Knicks. He would, however, be eligible for games in Los Angeles against the Lakers and Clippers and in San Francisco against the Warriors because, like in New York, those cities’ mandates only apply to players on the home teams.
The NBA has said unvaccinated players will not be paid for games they miss because of local ordinances.
The league announced last week that 95% of players were vaccinated.
Irving has not been with the Nets for any of their practices in New York, where professional athletes are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to practice or play.
He practiced with the Nets last week when they held training camp in San Diego, but hasn’t been with the team since it returned home.
KD WON’T PUSH KYRIE
Nets GM Sean Marks had said before training camp that he didn’t expect New York’s vaccine mandate would keep any players from being able to participate.
But with Kyrie Irving now set to miss Friday’s preseason game, he no longer has that confidence.
“I don’t know. I can’t answer that. As it stands now, no,” coach Steve Nash said Wednesday. “So we’ll see what happens. But I don’t really want to speculate on something that is just currently up in the air.”
Irving hasn’t said whether he is or intends to be vaccinated, and even one of his close friends is uncomfortable discussing it with him.
“This is his decision. That’s his choice. We all respect it,” All-Star Kevin Durant said. “I mean, this is way bigger than hoops, so I don’t even feel comfortable talking to him about stuff like this. But I’m just here to support and here to come in here and do my job as one of the leaders of this team and when things get figured out, I got to trust and hope that it’ll get figured out.”
The Nets don’t have a home game in the regular season until Oct. 24, so there is time for Irving if he does want to get vaccinated. If not, he wouldn’t be paid for any games he misses.
Durant and Irving were U.S. Olympic teammates in 2016 who planned a future together, agreeing to sign with the Nets on the same day in 2019. Durant made clear he wants Irving on the team but will give him time and space to figure out if he wants that, too.
“I’m not really trying to get too involved in it because it’s far bigger than myself and each one of us individually,” Durant said. “This is one man’s personal decision on his well-being.”
When Marks spoke on Sept. 21, he said a couple of Nets wouldn’t have been available at that time but said he was “confident in the following several days before camp everybody would be allowed to participate.”
Irving is the only player who still isn’t.
“We are anxious to be a whole team and Ky’s a huge part of what we do, but he’s dealing with something personal right now,” Durant said.