Less than two months since his outspoken vaccination refusal was the trigger for a mob of protesters to gather outside his team's home stadium in New York, the Brooklyn Nets have folded and are about to bring Irving back.
The NBA franchise made a decision inOctober to stand the All Star guard down from all duties and announced they would not accommodate him as a part-time player this season because of his refusal to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
New York City vaccine mandates prohibit Irving from playing home games at Barclays Center because of his unvaccinated status and the team found his presence too disruptive to allow him to play exclusively road games.
But senior ESPN journalist Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Nets had been forced to begin the process of bringing Irving back as a result of injuries and Covid-enforced absences — but only as a part-time employee to feature in games away from New York.
So far, Irving has been unwilling satisfy New York City mandates and become vaccinated to play home games, but the turbulence of the ongoing NBA season has caused the organisation to reconsider their pre-season decision to fully sideline Irving.
The Athletic's Shams Charania also reported Irving had begun taking the Covid tests he was required to undergo before being able to return to train with the team. His eventual return to play remained unknown.
"If we get the gift of his return, we'll be ecstatic, but we can't count on it," Nets coach Steve Nash said of Irving's potential return earlier this week.
"We can't wait for him. We have to get to work and get better, and our group's been awesome this year."
Irving has missed all of the Nets' games so far this year. While the team are atop the Eastern Conference with a 21-8 record in his absence, Irving's return would greatly bolster their chances to win an NBA championship.
Irving stands to lose around $22 million this season if he does not play any home games because of the vaccine issue. He is currently on a four-year contract with the Nets worth $200 million.
