The Brooklyn Nets have begun the 2021-22 NBA season 10-4 and they look like one of the best teams in the league even though Kyrie Irving has not played at all. Irving is currently sitting out due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates in New York City and while he can practice with the team and play in road games, the Nets have made it clear that this will not be the case with their All-Star.
They either want Kyrie Irving to play and practice every single day or they do not want him around the team at all this year.
As of right now, it does not appear that Irving is going to be changing his stance on getting vaccinated and New York City does not appear to be changing their guidelines anytime soon, so what is next for the 7x All-Star and the Brooklyn Nets?
It is possible that the Nets could look to trade Irving, but they would need to be receiving a ton of value in return that can help them contend for a championship this season and in the future.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Kyrie Irving’s Plans For Nets Could Be Impacted By NYC Mayor
When the team traded for James Harden last year, their intentions were to keep James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant long-term, but things could be changing due to Irving’s stance on the vaccine.
Seeing as the Nets are winning without Irving, they could feel confident in just waiting for either Irving to budge on the vaccine or NYC to hopefully change their mandates around Spring, but they could also look to move the All-Star around the trade deadline this year.
Brooklyn has fielded multiple calls from teams around the league inquiring about Irving’s availability and while no deal has been talked about, the San Antonio Spurs could be one of these teams interested in Kyrie Irving. The Spurs are rebuilding, but at the same time, they are a young, dynamic team that is in need of an All-Star leader.
Losing DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay and Patty Mills in the offseason has changed the way many around the league view this Spurs team and with an outside chance to make the playoffs right now, they could be tempted to leverage some current assets for a “win-now” player like Kyrie Irving.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Kyrie Irving’s Plans For Nets Could Be Impacted By NYC Mayor
Does San Antonio have what Brooklyn would want in a trade for Irving though? Let’s take a look at a trade proposal put together by Bleacher Report’s NBA staff that features Kyrie Irving being traded to the Spurs.
