Getty Kyrie Irving, Nets
From a Brooklyn Nets perspective, the possibility of new mayor Eric Adams lifting the vaccine mandate for indoor entertainment that has been in place since August is good news. It is that mandate that has been keeping Nets star Kyrie Irving, who averaged 26.9 points last NBA season, you may remember, from joining the team.
Coach Steve Nash made headlines on Wednesday before the Nets faced Atlanta when he noted that the team would, “welcome him back,” should the mandate go away, even if Irving is unvaccinated. So, it’s simple, right? Mandate gets lifted in January, Irving is back with the Nets.
Maybe, but the situation is complicated by a few factors. One is the fact that, even as he sits out, the Nets are getting calls about trades involving Irving, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported last night. The other is that fact that things could change with COVID-19 before January, and the mandate could remain in place.
Woj on Kyrie:
“The Brooklyn Nets, they have been getting calls from teams about Kyrie Irving, about their interest in discussing trades with them,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN. “So how does this fit into the Nets’ timetable if Kyrie Irving is going to wait into January to see what happens with the new mayor in New York City? How does that impact how the Nets move forward?”
Change in COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Could Spur Kyrie Trade
Fact is, Brooklyn has gotten no offers that would truly stir interest in the team offices. Teams that are looking to make a trade for Irving thus far have been low-balling the Nets, figuring his vaccine status could be used as leverage to get Brooklyn to dump him on the cheap to a market where there is no mandate in place. The Nets have, obviously, held off on doing anything like that.
But might the possibility of the removal of the mandate force teams that are serious about acquiring Irving to step up their offers? If the driver of lowball offers has been Irving’s absence, then the looming possibility of him returning to action changes the dynamics.
That could be the hope of those in the organization who may have grown weary of some of the distractions that come with having Irving on the roster, because none of the offers the Nets have gotten so far on Irving have been all that serious.
We’ve seen media-concocted trade proposals that would send Irving everywhere from Oklahoma City and Indiana, to Los Angeles and Philadelphia, but we’ve not had word of the Nets weighing anything real.
Opinion: Trade? The Brooklyn Nets Should Send Kyrie Irving Here t.co/PmZkb7DsmH
Timing Could Be Off on a Kyrie Irving Trade
As Wojnarowski reported, that could change with the possibility of a changed mandate coming. But for teams to be willing to send back top-tier players for Irving, they will want to see him back on the court and being productive. Availability has been a big problem for Irving recently—he has missed at least 15 games in each of his last four seasons and played in only 54 games last year.
Thus, a deal involving Irving is unlikely. There might not be enough time to make one happen. Even if the mandate is lifted on January 1, Irving would need time to get back into game shape and show he is ready to be an elite playmaker again ahead of the February 10 trade deadline. It is possible a deal could happen, but the most likely outcome is that Irving sticks around.