The Nets have allowed Kyrie Irving to come back and play NBA basketball again, though it will apparently be on a part-time basis. Irving remains unvaccinated and the local mandate for indoor performers in New York remains in place, which means he won’t be able to play home games in Brooklyn. Road games? He’s all in.
With the way things have gone for the Nets and the rest of the league, as the number of players sent to COVID-19 protocols has spiked, Brooklyn can be forgiven for changing its stance.
“Continuity’s out the window now,” coach Steve Nash said.
But while it is clear that the way the Nets roster has been depleted by injuries and COVID-19 was a major factor in swaying the organization to relent and allow Irving back to the team after its original stance that it did not want a part-time player, what remains unclear is whether the decision was influenced by either of the agents for the Nets’ other two stars, Kevin Durant or James Harden.
That was the assertion from Matthew Brooks of NetsDaily.com, who wrote that a meeting between general manager Sean Marks and an agent left Marks feeling as though his hand had been “forced” on the subject of Irving. That, according to the website, is what led to the change of course from Marks and the team.
Kyrie Irving’s Absence Adds Pressure to Durant, Harden
There is no doubt that, without Irving on the floor, the Big Three dynamics of Durant-Harden-Irving have been drastically altered. Harden has said that he has had difficulty sorting out his playmaking duties from his scoring duties with Irving out, and Durant has had to carry an enormous scoring load with Irving not playing.
Durant, who has entered the league’s COVID-19 protocols, is averaging 37.0 minutes, third in the NBA. He has also led the NBA in scoring at 29.7 points per game. Harden is playing 36.2 minutes per game, eighth in the league.
Those numbers are not out of line with their career averages, but with the goal of winning a championship, and with Harden at age 32 and Durant at 33, the ideas was not to overwork them in the regular season. That has gone out the window with the rash of COVID-19 absences.
That, according to Brooks, is what precipitated the meeting between Marks and either Rich Kleiman, the agent for Durant, or Lorenzo McCloud, the agent for Harden.
Nets Must Think Long-Term in Approach to This Season
The team has denied that any such meeting took place. But Brooks wrote:
An agent of at least one of them met with GM Sean Marks, according to an insider.
The goal of that meeting was reportedly simple; It was time for Marks and Nets owner Joe Tsai to re-think the stance of disallowing Kyrie Irving from team activities including road games. … Those discussions were somewhat contentious, added a source. Some within the Nets organization believed Marks left the meeting feeling as if his hand had been forced, he said. Although Durant has signed an extension, Harden (and Irving) have player options in the summer.
And certainly, the long-term future of this trio is at stake this season. Durant is staying put, but the team must weigh whether to give maximum-salary contracts to both Harden and Irving this summer. That is no easy task, especially if the season comes up short of a championship or, at least, the NBA Finals.
‘Contentious’ Nets Secret Meeting with Big 3 Agent Forced Kyrie Back: Report