SAN DIEGO — The Nets opened training camp Tuesday, and Kyrie Irving was present and practicing.
When he will play a home game is still anybody’s guess.
With Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden all healthy, the Nets will be a championship favorite. But they’ve already hit the first speed bump in that title chase, because New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates — and Irving’s purported refusal to get vaccinated — mean he could be barred from playing and practicing at home, and possibly lose pay in the process, according to the collective bargaining agreement.
“That’s not really something I’m focusing on right now,” head coach Steve Nash said when asked by The Post about his level of concern over Irving possibly missing home games. “I’m trying to have a great camp. Things could change day-to-day in so many ways, as we saw last year. Right now, we are just focused on camp.”
When Nash was pressed on whether he wasn’t focusing on it because he presumed Irving will eventually relent and get vaccinated, or because mandates could change, he said he’s just worrying about what he can control.
“I just focus on camp because this is where we are,” Nash said at the University of San Diego’s Jenny Craig Pavilion. “We’re right here in camp, we’ve got to get better, we’ve got to make the most of this week. So to worry on stuff that’s outside of my control right now, my control and my focus is on getting these guys’ principles down, getting them some reps, building that chemistry and having a great week in San Diego so when we go home we say that was very, very productive.”
More than 90 percent of NBA players are vaccinated, according to NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts, far higher than the U.S. average of 55 percent, but that means approximately 50 players are unvaccinated. While the Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins and the Wizards’ Bradley Beal have been vocal about their refusal to be injected, Irving has declined to discuss the subject and asked for people to “respect his privacy.”
Only 28 percent of black men 18-44 in New York City are vaccinated according to city data reported by The New York Times, and Irving’s Standing Rock Sioux tribe has its own vaccine hesitancy issues. Though his decision to get or not get a vaccine is private, his inability to play and his interaction with his teammates are not.
Center LaMarcus Aldridge is just coming back from a short-lived retirement forced by an irregular heartbeat. Cardiac issues can impact the immune system and make a person more vulnerable to COVID-19.
“Yeah, for sure,” Aldridge told The Post. “For sure you always have to be worried about it, especially if you’re a high-risk person, player. But I’ve always taken the right precautions: Mask, wash my hands and tried to do things the right way, and I think that’s why I’ve never had it. So I plan to continue those good practices, and hopefully I do my part and my teammates will too.”
For his part, Aldridge said he wasn’t any more nervous practicing alongside unvaccinated teammates or facing unvaccinated foes.
“No, it’s their choice,” Aldridge told The Post. “I’m going to do my part, washing my hands and we’re testing and stuff, so hopefully that keeps me safe.”
There are some in the Nets organization who expected Irving to have been vaccinated by Monday’s media day, and there are others that still think he will be convinced to acquiesce by teammates whose counsel he keeps.
If he doesn’t, it could not only hurt the Nets but his finances. Article VI, Section 1 of the CBA includes language that allows teams to cut a players’ payment if he fails to render services without a proper and reasonable cause. Granted, the players’ association could fight over what proper and reasonable entails, and with a $34 million salary this season, Irving can afford any fines or lost pay. But surely the Nets hope it doesn’t come to that.