Nets' Vaughn: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving Return Talks 'Were Ongoing' Amid Hiatus

Brooklyn Nets interim head coach Jacque Vaughn said Wednesday the team talked with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant about possibly returning for the remainder of the 2019-20 NBA season.

According to Alex Schiffer of The Athletic, Vaughn appeared on YES Network and said talks "were ongoing" with Irving and Durant while the league was on hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, but Schiffer noted Vaughn didn't let on how serious the discussions were.

Irving has missed all but 20 games this season with multiple ailments, including the shoulder injury that has him on the shelf currently. Durant has not played at all this season after suffering a torn Achilles while with the Golden State Warriors in last year's NBA Finals.

The NBA is working to finalize a plan that will see play resume next month in Orlando, Florida. The 22 invited teams would play eight regular-season games each before competing in the playoffs. Brooklyn is seventh in the Eastern Conference at 30-34.

While the NBPA has agreed to the NBA's return-to-play plan, Irving and other players have reportedly spoken out against it.

Last week, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Irving played a key role in a call that included nearly 100 players, making an "impassioned plea" to the players to sit out the rest of the 2019-20 season and shift focus toward aiding in the fight against racial inequality, police brutality and social injustice following the killing of 46-year-old George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that Irving said: "I don't support going into Orlando. I'm not with the systematic racism and the bulls--t. Something smells a little fishy."

Charania noted Kyrie also said, "I'm willing to give up everything I have [for social reform]."

Durant was reportedly on the call as well, and his close relationship with Irving may suggest he would be in favor of sitting out the remainder of the 2019-20 season as well.

Even if Irving and Durant are healthy enough to return—which may not even be the case—recent events make it seem unlikely they will play even if the 2019-20 season does resume.

Without Irving and Durant, the Nets have the makings of a sacrificial lamb in the Eastern Conference. They have a six-game lead on the ninth-place Washington Wizards, but it is possible they won't even make the playoffs.

The eighth-place Orlando Magic are just a half-game behind the Nets, so if the Magic pass them and the Wizards finish four games or fewer behind the Nets, there would be a play-in series between Brooklyn and Washington.

Under that scenario, the Nets would have to beat the Wizards once to earn the No. 8 seed, while the Wizards would have to beat the Nets twice.

Even if the Nets do reach the playoffs as the seventh or eighth seed, a first-round series against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks or the reigning NBA champion Toronto Raptors would see Brooklyn enter as a massive underdog.

The Nets could vie for an NBA championship next season if Irving and Durant are healthy and productive, but if they don't have their two biggest stars for the remainder of this season, a deep playoff run is highly improbable.

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Bleacher Report's David Gardner interviews athletes and other sports figures for the podcast How to Survive Without Sports.