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Nets star Kyrie Irving was not at HSS Training Center on Wednesday, barred from playing or even training at home due to his refusal to comply with the city’s vaccination mandates. And neither his coach nor his closest friends on the Nets had any idea when – or if – that was going to change, and weren’t about to force him to do so.
“No, I’m not giving advice,” said teammate Kevin Durant. “It’s his decision; it is his choice. We all respected it. It’s much bigger than hoops. So I don’t feel comfortable talking to him about this stuff. But I’m just here to support and to come here and do my job as one of the leaders of the team, and when things are done I have confidence and I hope that will be sorted out.
It is not known if this confidence is based on the assurances of his friend. At least it seems Irving didn’t dismiss the idea of getting the shot out of hand, and Durant still tries to maintain an upbeat attitude.
“I am personally, yeah; because I want him to be part of this group. He is a player and a special person and we want him to be part of this group. But a lot of things are beyond our control. We’ll let him find that out for himself, ”Durant said. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to say I don’t want him on the team. It is a big part of what we do.
Until Irving gets vaccinated (or until terms end), he will not be able to participate in any team activities at home. It will cost him $ 381,181 per missed game, according to former Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks, now with ESPN.
Brooklyn’s home opener is Friday against Milwaukee. And when Durant was asked if Irving’s resistance could extend into the regular season, he didn’t rule him out.
“I don’t know,” Durant said. “I’m not really trying to get too involved, because it’s so much bigger than me and each of us individually. It is a man’s personal decision about his well-being. So I have to sit down, just watch and see what’s going on and keep coming here and practicing every day and every rehearsal. Everyone has this mentality.
After Durant and Irving spoke of joining forces, they came to Brooklyn together in June 2019. After last season’s difficult second-round loss to the Bucks – when Irving was injured – they now have a chance to to win.
But Irving’s absence not only forces Steve Nash to train at home without him, it could very well extend to home games if he doesn’t give in.
“Kyrie is a big part of this team,” said Bruce Brown. “We want him to come back. We can’t wait for him to be back.
While the Nets have ruled out moving training out of town to accommodate Irving, they also can’t get him to train with the G-League Long Island Nets. They don’t start camp until October 25 or the season until November 6.
If Irving can’t train at home with his teammates, the options are limited.
“I don’t know the answer to that, but I imagine it should be his own diet,” Nash said. “We haven’t discussed it yet. We’ll see. If this is something that we are discussing, I don’t think it is something that I would share with everyone what we asked him to do. It is not something that we have discussed.
Some in the organization expected Irving to be vaccinated before media day last Monday, let alone on opening day. And while there is some private dismay that it hasn’t happened yet, they still can’t wait to find him.
“I imagine Kyrie is part of our team,” Durant said. “Maybe I’m just naive, maybe, but that’s exactly how I feel. But everyone here has this confidence in themselves and in our group that if we keep building we can do something special. “
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