Kyrie Irving Will Not Play for Nets vs. 76ers Because of Personal Reasons

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving will miss Thursday night's game against the Philadelphia 76ers due to personal reasons.

"I sent him a message in the last half hour and haven't heard back yet," Brooklyn coach Steve Nash told reporters before Thursday's contest. "But obviously thinking about him and hope that all is well. It's a private matter."

According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, a source said Irving is "OK" but is unsure when the Nets star will return.

The Nets knew it would be an entire season before Kevin Durant suited up and took the court for them, but they didn't expect their other marquee free-agent signing to be limited to just 20 appearances in 2019-20.

Irving picked up a shoulder injury in November 2019 that lingered for months. He attempted to make a return last January but lasted just a few weeks before going out again. The six-time All-Star underwent shoulder surgery in March 2020.

The Nets will obviously be proactive in managing Irving's workload and assumed he'd miss the occasional game here and there.

They have to balance that against the need to build continuity between him and Durant under first-year head coach Steve Nash, especially after seeing how the Los Angeles Clippers' handling of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard backfired in the playoffs.

Brooklyn wants both Durant and Irving healthy and productive in order to meet the championship expectations that were set the moment they arrived.