After the Nets ended their second practice of the season without Kyrie Irving, one of the team’s other franchise players, Kevin Durant, made the long walk across Brooklyn’s practice facility in Sunset Park to meet with reporters for the first time since his teammate’s absence.
Irving’s vaccination status isn’t publicly known, but New York’s mandate is for professional athletes to be vaccinated if they wish to play indoors. The 6-foot-2 point guard may end up ineligible from playing in home games at Barclays Center or across the East River at Madison Square Garden, each missed game costing him around $380,000. Durant, who Irving recruited to Brooklyn in the summer of 2019, brought both optimism and reality to a difficult situation when addressing the media.
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“We are anxious to be a whole team and Ky is a huge part of what we do,” Durant said. “But he’s dealing with something personal right now, and while he’s dealing with that, we’re going to focus on us here in the gym and keep working. And when he’s ready to figure that out, he’ll figure it out.”
While Durant and Irving are extremely close, the 6-foot-10 forward said he’s not one to give advice, especially on a personal matter. Irving’s decision is his alone, even with the ramifications it could have on the team. Both Durant and Irving, as well as James Harden, sat out Sunday’s preseason win against the Lakers for rest. Steve Nash said afterward he never considered playing Irving despite the chance that he wouldn’t be able to practice in the coming days. Durant said the idea of the big three playing because of Irving’s situation hadn’t crossed his mind either, until it was mentioned to him on Wednesday. Had the Lakers played their stars, Durant thinks the Nets would have given their own some minutes.
Durant is no stranger to attrition, having been limited to 35 games this past season due to a hamstring injury and contact tracing, the latter of which he was subjected to despite having the antibodies for COVID-19. He still saw the Nets suit up a franchise-record 28 players and nearly 40 different starting lineups. He preached a “next man up” mentality last season and now finds himself doing it again in the preseason, but without any injured teammates. It worked last season as the Nets weathered numerous injuries to become the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Durant is now employing the same approach and is optimistic about the situation not bleeding into the regular season.
“I want him to be part of this group,” Durant said. “He’s a special, special player and person and we want him to be part of this group. But a lot of stuff is out of our control, and we’ll let him figure that out for himself. But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna say that I don’t want him on the team, you know what I’m saying? He’s a huge part of what we do. But guys have got to step up in his absence, be who they are and move forward.”
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However, a return date for Irving remains murky at best. Brooklyn is scheduled to play Milwaukee at home on Friday before traveling to Philadelphia on Sunday for a third preseason game on Monday. Irving would be eligible to play against the Sixers due to the city’s lack of a vaccine mandate. But Nash didn’t have an update on Irving’s situation and added that he hasn’t discussed a workout routine for his star point guard when he’s away from the team. “I don’t know the answer to that but I imagine it would have to be his own regimen,” Nash said.
Irving’s status for Monday won’t be addressed until after Friday’s game, and Nash has yet to decide on who will play. Joe Harris said he wasn’t told until early Sunday that he wasn’t playing against the Lakers and has yet to learn of his own status for Friday. For now, the Nets are carrying on without Irving while Durant leads the rest of the team. Bruce Brown said Irving’s absence hasn’t been a topic of discussion in the locker room. As the regular season draws closer, Irving’s status and the Nets’ willingness to accept his possible limited availability remain unknown. What’s assured is Durant, who is currently focused on getting the Nets ready, with or without Irving.
“I’m not really trying to get too involved in it, because I mean it’s far bigger than myself and each one of us individually,” Durant said. “This is one man’s personal decision on his well-being. So I’ve got to sit back and just observe and see what’s happening and keep coming in here and practice every day and going every rep. I think everybody has that mentality.”
(Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)