Source: Sarah Stier / Getty
The Brooklyn Nets are one of the many
NBA teams bit by the COVID-19 bug. To help alleviate some of the strain, the team has finally decided to let Kyrie Irving play part-time.
Friday (Dec.17), the NBA Twitter was thrown for a loop when the Nets finally blinked and decided to let Kyrie Irving return to action as a “part-time” player for games outside of New York and Toronto.
ESPN reports the decision to bring back the unvaccinated All-Star guard was due to injuries, multiple players, including James Harden landing in the league’s health and safety protocols, and the excessive minutes load on
Kevin Durant.
“We arrived at this decision with the full support of our players and after careful consideration of our current circumstances, including players missing games due to injuries and health and safety protocols,” general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. “We believe that the addition of Kyrie will not only make us a better team but allow us to more optimally balance the physical demand on the entire roster.”
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“We look forward to Kyrie’s return to the lineup, as well as getting our entire roster back together on the court,” Marks added.
Irving’s return to the court won’t be instant, he has to test negative for COVID-19 for five consecutive days, and once he does return, he will be tested every day as an unvaccinated player.
While the “voiceless” Irving claimed he was the champion for might be happy for the news, many are scratching their heads at the Nets’ decision to allow Irving to play, especially as the Omicron COVID-19 variant is spreading rapidly. One Twitter user wrote, “An Unvaccinated Kyrie coming back to help a Nets team who lost half the team to COVID protocols.”
We shall see if this decision pans out for the Brooklyn Nets. You can peep more reactions to Kyrie Irving being allowed to play in select road games in the gallery below.
Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty
