Steve Nash: Nets Won't Move Practices Outside NYC to Accommodate Kyrie Irving

Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash doesn't expect to move the team's practices to accommodate star guard Kyrie Irving.

"No, this is our home, this is where we're going to practice and we have almost a whole group," Nash told reporters. "So that's a positive, and we're just working at getting better every day and focusing on the things we can control."

COVID-19 protocols in New York City require Nets players to be vaccinated in order to practice with the team and play in home games. Irving wasn't in attendance for Brooklyn's first workout back at the HSS Training Center in New York.

Irving's status for the upcoming season became one of the biggest stories around the NBA after his aunt, Tyki, told Rolling Stone's Matt Sullivan the seven-time All-Star may have to miss home games at Barclays Center.

"There are so many other players outside of him who are opting out, I would like to think they would make a way," Tyki Irving said. "It could be like every third game. So it still gives you a full season of being interactive and being on the court, but with the limitations that they’re, of course, oppressing upon you."

Irving didn't attend the Nets' media day and instead answered questions from reporters on Instagram Live. He declined to say whether he planned to get vaccinated:

Golden State Warriors star Andrew Wiggins was facing a similar dilemma. 

The NBA denied Wiggins' request for a religious exemption from the vaccine, which left him subject to a requirement from the San Francisco Department of Public Health that anybody 12 and older be vaccinated in order to attend large indoor events.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed the 26-year-old has since received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, which will allow him to practice and play at Chase Center this season.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks reported Monday the NBA and National Basketball Players Association reached an agreement on salary reductions for unvaccinated players who miss time because they aren't compliant with local guidelines. Irving would reportedly miss out on around $380,000 for every home game he misses.