Kyrie Irving has been away from the Brooklyn Nets this week for personal reasons, and he may not be eligible to play right away if and when he does decide to return.
Irving has missed Brooklyn’s last three games, and no one seems to know why. On Monday night, a video on social media surfaced that appeared to show him at a maskless gathering to celebrate his sister’s birthday. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews, the NBA is looking into the video to determine if Irving violated COVID-19 protocols.
Sources with @Malika_Andrews: As the NBA is expected to begin examining online videos circulating of a maskless Kyrie Irving at a family birthday party, there’s no belief that he will return to the Brooklyn Nets lineup this week.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 12, 2021
You can see the video in question here.
Wojnarowski also noted that Irving has been ruled out for Tuesday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets and is not expected to play on Wednesday or Saturday, either.
In other words, there is no timetable for Irving’s return. He may have to quarantine even when he does rejoin the Nets, so that could keep him out even longer.
Nets coach Steve Nash made some comments recently that indicated he is unsure of the reason behind Irving’s absence. Brooklyn has lost its last two games to fall to 5-6 on the season.
