Kyrie Irving Cleared to Practice with Nets; NYC Deems Team Facility Private Office
Kyrie Irving may not be permitted to play in home games this season if he remains unvaccinated because of New York City's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for indoor arenas, but he's been cleared to practice with the team.
Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, "New York City has determined the Brooklyn Nets' practice facility, HSS Training Center, is a private office building—clearing Nets All-Star Kyrie Irving to practice at home."
To this point, Irving hasn't been available to practice with the team during training camp, with the Nets choosing not to move practice locations to accommodate him.
"This is our home," head coach Steve Nash told reporters this week. "This is where we're going to practice, and we have almost a whole group. We're just working at getting better every day and focusing on the things we can control."
"We look forward to having him," Nash added Friday regarding Irving's updated practice status. "I think tomorrow [in practice outdoors] is likely and Sunday hopefully even more likely. But we'll see."
Regardless of Irving being able to practice, his future with the team is somewhat in doubt if he remains unvaccinated. For a team with championship aspirations, being without an All-Star for half of the regular season and any home playoff games is untenable.
That has led to speculation that the Nets could consider trading him at some point. Of course, the situation would be resolved if Irving ultimately chose to get the vaccine.
"I'm envisioning Kyrie being a part of our team," Kevin Durant told reporters this week. "Maybe I'm just naive, but that's just how I feel. But everybody here has that confidence in themselves and our group, that if we keep doing it, we can do something special.”
The Nets are good enough, with Durant, James Harden and a strong supporting cast, to play well while Irving is absent from home games. But in the long term, something is going to have to give.
