Kyrie Irving’s situation in Brooklyn has been escalating for quite some time now. Irving is hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine, something that is proving to be a major headache for the Brooklyn Nets.
Under current New York guidelines, Kyrie will not be able to play any home games for the Nets if he remains unvaccinated. That means that is at least 41 games from the season that Kyrie will miss. On top of that, he could miss more if other cities in the US also tighten their vaccine mandates.
The Brooklyn Nets owner recently came out and made their mission statement for the season very clear; win a championship. And that could be a message to Kyrie Irving, who is putting the team’s success in jeopardy with his decision not to get vaccinated.
There have been no reports about how his teammates feel about Kyrie’s decision. But James Harden came out and lent his support to Kyrie, but also hoped that the situation would resolve itself soon enough.
As reported by NBA analyst Alex Schiffer on Twitter, James Harden hopes that Kyrie can return to the franchise soon, as he is a big part of what makes the Nets team strong favorites to win the championship. But he did say that Kyrie has his support regardless of his decision.
James Harden said he wants Kyrie Irving to be a part of the team and adds he’s a huge part of what makes them scary. Hasn’t spoken to him on the vaccine, but would like to see the situation resolved. Irving has his support.
— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) October 7, 2021
Harden has put some indirect pressure on Kyrie, explaining his reluctance to re-sign with the Nets and wanting to test free agency for the first time in his NBA career. If Kyrie doesn’t end up getting the vaccine and it jeopardizes Brooklyn’s season, that could be a real possibility.
There are officials in the NBA that believe Kyrie may actually be trying to make his way out of Brooklyn with his reluctance. But given how strong a friendship he shares with Kevin Durant, that may not be the case. On top of that, Irving was the one who influenced Durant to join the Nets in 2019 with him in free agency.
