PHILADELPHIA — Neither Kyrie Irving nor the Nets have revealed what the specialists have said about his shoulder woes or if surgery is needed. But as his injuries mount and the schedule melts away, they’re thinking long-term.
Or at least they should be.
“Let’s get the second opinion and we get the information and proceed from there,” Kenny Atkinson said Wednesday. “It’s a second opinion, more information. It’s been bothering him. We need a clearer picture what that looks like.
“You’re trying to get the best information possible, and that’s what he’s doing. He’s trying to find a solution and we’re helping him. I know it’s frustrating to him, but it’s tough to play when you’re not [healthy], you can’t do what you’re supposed to do. I think that’s very frustrating.”
Longtime friends Irving, Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan all picked Brooklyn together in last summer’s free agency. But it’s hard to imagine this first season having gone further off the rails than it has.
Irving has already missed 33 of the Nets’ 53 games, including 26 in a row with the shoulder impingement that’s threatening his season now. And Durant threw cold water on any possibility of playing in 2019-20 after his own Achilles tendon surgery last June.
“No, I don’t think so. Not for now,” Durant told Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks in a video released Monday. “No! No. The best thing for me is to continue the rehab, get as strong as I can and focus on next season.”
Which begs the question of how that will impact Irving’s thinking.
The Post reported Dec. 4 that a procedure could be needed, and Irving eventually acknowledged as much a month later.
After seeing a specialist in Arizona, Irving had been presented with the choice between arthroscopic surgery and kicking the can down the road with a cortisone shot. On Christmas Eve, he elected for the injection; but now that’s worn off and he’s gone to see another specialist.
“I’m going to see him [Thursday] and let him know what I think. I’m his specialist,” Jordan quipped, adding, “We want all of our guys healthy. Obviously during the season there are a ton of people who’re fighting through something. It’s just the nature of the beast. But long-term-wise, we want everybody on this team to be healthy, from 1 to 15.
“As you get older and understand your body more, understand how precious things are, and also you want to have different people to [consult], you don’t just want to have one way to go. It’s a smart thing, because both people could agree, they could disagree. You compare and see what happens. It’s all taking care of your body and your business.”
Despite joking that he’s Irving’s mystery specialist, Jordan said he had no idea which way his friend is leaning.
“As far as what Kyrie’s thinking, I don’t [know]. He’s a friend of mine, but I don’t have [telepathic powers],” said Jordan, mimicking a Vulcan mind-meld. “We want him healthy, and whatever goes on and is decided, we’re going to support him.”
In the interim, expect a Spencer Dinwiddie-Caris LeVert backcourt.
“For sure, you always feel for your brother, stuff like that floating around,” LeVert said. “We know he saw a specialist, so we’ll see what’s to come from that.”
The Nets come out of the All-Star break Thursday in Philadelphia having won four of five since Irving went down with a knee injury.
LeVert averaged 24 points, 5.2 assists and 50 percent shooting from deep in that span, reinstalled as a starter and displaying great chemistry with Dinwiddie.
“We’ve played together now for the third or fourth year. I feel like we know each other’s games in and out,” LeVert said. “We’re a tough matchups for other teams with our size, passing and shooting abilities, so it just works for us.”