The Brooklyn Nets have been without star point guard Kyrie Irving, since January 7th.
While they have made headlines — such as trading for James Harden — the disappearance of Irving has become a distraction for the team.
The question that remains is, where did Kyrie go and why hasn’t he returned to his team?
In fact, speculation has begun swirling around the league that the Nets pulled the trigger on the Harden deal just in case Kyrie decided to not return.
That was quickly denied.
The Mystery Of Kyrie Irving
Trying to figure out what caused Kyrie to step away momentarily from the game has almost turned into a mysterious Netflix documentary, The Journals of the Missing Irving.
On January 7th, the Brooklyn Nets were scheduled to play the Philadelphia 76ers.
That was the first game Kyrie missed and it appeared as if no one knew why.
The assumption was that Kyrie took a personal day off due to the riots on the U.S. Capital that ensued on January 6th, one day before their game against Philly.
Steve Nash doesn’t know why Kyrie Irving is out tonight, but he is hoping everything is OK. pic.twitter.com/m0bytoDBne
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) January 8, 2021
After ignoring Coach Nash, many were not sure when or if, Kyrie Irving would be returning to the team anytime soon.
As Joe Vardon of The Athletic reported, Nets general manager, Sean Marks had some remarks on Kyrie after pulling off the blockbuster deal for James Harden:
“I don’t want to speculate and say why he’s out and so forth. I’ve had conversations with him, and I’ll continue to have conversations. And we look forward to him being back in the gym where he will address this,”
There is no denying that Kyrie Irving will have some explaining to do to his teammates.
Irving has now missed 7 straight games, where his team has gone 5-2 without him.
They are 2-0 with newly acquired James Harden.
Who, I might add, is excited to play with Irving when he returns.
James Harden’s IG story
Scary Hours when Kyrie returns. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/uBdG1vPJnh
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 17, 2021
Luckily for Nets fans, it appears as if Kyrie Irving will be returning by late this week.
Brooklyn Nets G Now In COVID Protocol
While the Nets are still unaware of what sparked the absence of Kyrie Irving, they are beginning to form an idea of where he was.
Over the last week and a half, reports have come to life that Kyrie Irving was seen on a Zoom meeting as well as spotted at a family party where no one was wearing a mask.
That began speculation as to whether or not Kyrie was dealing with “mental” issues.
The NBA is expected to examine videos of Kyrie Irving maskless at a family birthday party and he’s not expected to return this week, per @wojESPN and @malika_andrews pic.twitter.com/jBJHGjDdoc
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 12, 2021
Irving broke the health and safety protocols set in place by the NBA and thus, was fined $50,000 after the investigation of the video that surfaced.
The Nets guard also forfeited his game-day checks while in quarantine.
While the soap opera of Irving disappearing feels like it’s been going on for a while, it’s only been about 13 days.
The good news is that it should be coming to an end soon.
Irving has continually tested negative and is set to return later this week.
Kyrie Irving is likely to return to the Nets lineup this Wednesday/Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, via ESPN.
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 18, 2021
Moving forward, the Nets will need to address whatever happened with Kyrie and then turn their focus to winning the NBA championship.
As James Harden refers to it, the Nets trio will enter “scary hours” when they are all on the floor together.
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