Kyrie Irving is a character. He speaks his mind, has his own views, and won’t let anybody try and change his thoughts.
This time, however, Irving’s rather mysterious personality could be a massive problem for his team, as Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash doesn’t even know when he’ll show up to practice:
“Asked if he expects to have Kyrie Irving at practice this week in Brooklyn when the Nets return from their trip, Steve Nash said he has no new update on Kyrie’s status,” tweeted Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
Asked if he expects to have Kyrie Irving at practice this week in Brooklyn when the Nets return from their trip, Steve Nash said he has no new update on Kyrie’s status.
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) October 3, 2021
Irving seems to be going through a bit of a holdout and no one on the team is aware of his whereabouts or thoughts. Clearly, this is a response to the vaccine mandate imposed by New York City.
Kyrie doesn’t seem to be in favor of getting the COVID-19 vaccine shot any time soon. He’s often talked about his principles so it’s unlikely that he’s going to change his mind in time for the start of the season.
Should he decide not to be vaccinated, he’d lose as much as $18,735,521 throughout the season, half of his pay as he wouldn’t be eligible to play in home games. Also, that would be a massive issue in the playoffs.
That’s why some analysts like Kendrick Perkins believe that the Nets should move him and that even Kevin Durant should try and prompt a Kyrie Irving trade right away.
But as you may know by now, Kyrie and Durant are close friends, so that’s not likely to happen. Also, Irving’s deal is pretty big, and finding a trade suitor that’s willing to deal with those kinds of things with all the uncertainty surrounding the season and potential vaccine mandates won’t be easy at all.
