Kyrie Irving can train with Nets at Brooklyn facility, sources say

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving will be able to train at the team’s premises in Brooklyn, sources confirmed to ESPN, but still will not be able to play in home games due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate from the city.

Irving’s change in status is due to the city determining that the HSS Training Center, the Nets’ training center in Brooklyn, is a “private office building,” as opposed to an indoor gymnasium – the one of many indoor facilities that fall under the city’s immunization mandate that went into effect last month.

“Looks like we might have Kyrie on the road with us, but I’m not sure he’ll be playing as we haven’t seen him in a week, and obviously safety first,” said Nets coach Steve Nash to reporters. ahead of Friday night’s game in Brooklyn against the Milwaukee Bucks, the first game Irving has been forced to miss this season due to the city’s vaccination mandate. “There won’t be a huge risk of injury, but a lot of things to sort out. We’re just getting information at the same time as you, so we’ll see. [what happens]. “

Irving has not been with the team since returning from Brooklyn from California, where the Nets held a training camp in San Diego before playing their preseason opener – in which Irving did not played – Sunday in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

The city’s vaccination mandate, which states that a person must have proof of at least one COVID-19 vaccine in order to enter, among other things, indoor gyms – including the Barclays Center, the home of the Nets, and Madison Square Garden, home of the Knicks – barred Irving from attending the team’s media day, held Sept. 27 at the Barclays Center. Irving instead joined via a Zoom call from his home.

It also forced him to miss training this week, leading Nash to question whether the team had considered moving their training site to allow their star point guard to train with them – a idea that Nash rejected.

But now that won’t be necessary, after the city changed its position on Friday to allow Irving to train at the facility. The Nets are set to train at Brooklyn Bridge Park on Saturday afternoon, then practice at their premises on Sunday before heading to Philadelphia for Monday’s game against the 76ers – the only time Irving can play, so far. , before the first game of the season. on October 19 in Milwaukee against defending champions Bucks.

“I mean, I think all I would say is my first type of thought is it’s positive,” Nash said. “We have him in the squad for a longer period of our season. We’ll see what happens. I don’t know. [ruling] just arrived. Is there another coming up? Will he be allowed to play at home at some point? Will he not be able to train in our facility at some point?

“We’re just keeping up with the latest news, and I don’t think anyone’s been through this before. Obviously the pandemic is new to everyone, but now we’re in a position where the pandemic is creating all of these different things as well. new scenarios. I really don’t know what to say other than it’s positive that he can now join his teammates in our training facility and train, and that gives us more points of contact with him and we’ll be leaving of the. “

Asked about Irving’s potential to play on Monday, and if it was like checking an injured player to see where he’s at given how much time Irving has been away from the team, Nash agreed it was a good way to see the situation.

“Yeah, more or less, because when someone is able to return to full activity on the pitch, it would still take some high intensity work before they put it in a game,” Nash said. “I think even if you’re not injured you still have to hit those thresholds, and if you’re hurt once you’re healthy, in quotes, you have to hit those thresholds as well.”

City’s change in stance doesn’t affect Irving’s inability to play games in Brooklyn – or Madison Square Garden for the two times a year the Nets will face rival Knicks – which could cost more. $ 17 million to Irving if he doesn’t. respect the mandate throughout the season.

But while the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have agreed that, under the terms of the collective agreement, anyone missing games without “reasonable cause” this season will forfeit 1 / 91.6th of their salary for each game missed, the The union has not agreed that the mandate applies to Irving’s situation.

“They reported that we have agreed that if a player who was not able to play due to his non-vaccination status, he could be docked [pay]”Michele Roberts, executive director of the NBPA, told the New York Daily News earlier this week.” We disagreed. The league’s position is that they can. We’ll see.”

The Athletic first reported the news of New York’s change of stance on the Nets installation being a place Irving could attend without complying with the City’s mandate.