As the Nets await the return of Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving’s part-time status could be about to change.
On NBA Today, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski dropped the latest bombshell on the Irving dilemma, revealing that the Nets are feeling confident that Uncle Drew will be allowed to play in home games this season.
“I think around the Nets there’s still a confidence, maybe even more than an optimism that they’re going to get Kyrie Irving on a full-time basis at some point,” Woj said Wednesday.
On NBA Today, Woj said there’s “optimism” around the Nets, league office, and players association that Kyrie Irving will be full-time. pic.twitter.com/igRwlI0SRV
— Anthony Puccio (@APOOCH) March 9, 2022
The Irving crisis began before the season when the star point guard made the decision to avoid the COVID-19 vaccine.
Amid heavy criticism and widespread outrage, he was disqualified from playing for failing to meet New York’s health and safety protocols, and the Nets were resistant to letting him be a part-time player.
Even after dropping 50 points on Tuesday night, Irving was at the source of anger for many in the NBA community.
“It made me want to throw up. I’m disgusted,” said Stephen a. Smith. “Because you’ve got a bunch of fools out there that’s raving about Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant clapping and all of that. Kevin Durant should be sick. The fans who love Kyrie Irving should be sick. Cause you know what last night was evidence of? What he’s robbing us of.
Find me one person who watches the game of basketball and denies how spectacular of an offensive player Kyrie Irving is. It’s never happened. We’ve all seen this. This is nothing. He scored 50… so? Kyrie could do that in his sleep. What we talked about is that he ain’t available. This is who he is. And when I saw Kevin Durant clapping like that last night and everybody raving, I got ticked off, because that;s exactly what Kyrie Irving wants to do. He wants to skip half the season, he wanna work when he wanna work. Then he wanna show up, he puts on a show, and then everybody gets caught up in the show…”
Fortunately, things appear to be changing for the Nets. Kevin Durant is healthy again, Ben Simmons is ramping up towards a comeback, and Irving could soon play on his home court again.
With their “big three” intact, the Nets could be on the verge of shocking the world. Even at their current stance (8th in the East), they are not a squad any team wants to face in the postseason.
