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Kyrie Irving didn’t fly with the Nets for Friday’s 115-110 loss to Memphis, and his status (along with that of Kevin Durant) is still up in the air for Sunday’s home tilt against the Thunder.
A source familiar with the situation told The Post that Irving is fine physically, but was upset by the attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington by supporters of President Donald Trump.
The All-Star isn’t AWOL, and the team has been aware of why he’s not playing. Irving, in essence, took personal days, according to a source.
“I messaged with Ky, but I want to keep all that stuff private,” Nets coach Steve Nash said. “We don’t have any decision on Sunday yet. But we’ll deal with that and figure it out before we go on Sunday.”
The newsletter “The Association” reported the lack of punishment for the police officers who shot and killed the unarmed 26-year-old Breonna Taylor last March also contributed to Irving’s decision.
Nash hopes to get Irving back from his personal leave and Durant back from contact tracing quarantine Sunday.
The Nets’ rookie coach said both before and after Thursday’s win over the 76ers that he hadn’t spoken with Irving and had no idea why the point guard wasn’t playing or at Barclays Center. But a source told The Post that Irving had reached out to the team beforehand and the information was relayed to Nash.
Before Friday’s tipoff, Nash clarified that he finally spoke with Irving late after Thursday’s win, but wouldn’t elaborate on what he told his star guard.
“I messaged with Ky [Thursday],” Nash said. “I’m just going to keep [the conversation] between us.”
The usually open and transparent Nash declined to say whether the Nets organization was satisfied with Irving’s communication during this situation, which has come under scrutiny.
“Like I said, sorry, we’re just going to keep that between us,” Nash said. “It was a personal matter, so we’re going to keep it personal, and respect privacy.”
Nash said he understands there are issues bigger than basketball.
“Well, there’s no question that social justice is way
more than basketball. That goes without saying. I think we all understand that in this league,” said Nash, whose Twitter avatar is a photo of George Floyd, the black man killed in broad daylight by police in Minneapolis last May.
“So we’re all disappointed and in lockstep that change needs to come, and that we have to have faith that there are small changes happening. It’s not fast enough. It’s not resounding enough. But it can’t deter us from our collective belief that change is imperative.”
Irving, who counted Kobe Bryant as a close friend and mentor, left the Garden and didn’t face the Knicks last Jan. 26 after hearing word of the Lakers icon’s tragic death. The point guard was limited to just 20 games in his debut Nets campaign by season-ending shoulder surgery.
It remains to be seen if Irving plays Sunday, with Durant also potentially returning if he keeps testing nega
tive for COVID-19.
“Kevin, I believe, is still on track for Sunday,” Nash said. “So we just have to just hope his tests continue to be negative and everything stays as is, it appears he’ll be ready to go Sunday night.”
Irving is sixth in the NBA in scoring at 27.1 points. A Hall of Fame point guard himself, Nash shouldered similar responsibilities in his day, and understands how hard it was to even gauge a team bereft of its star floor leader.
“I always just felt bad to not be out there to help,” Nash said. “If you’re the leader of the attack, it’s difficult to evaluate because your team plays a certain way with you that they may not play without you. You just hope they find a rhythm and skill together and can create scoring opportunities to give themselves a chance to win.”