The Nets’ roster has been crushed by COVID-19, with 10 players now in protocols, including Durant, Irving, James Harden and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Nets general manager Sean Marks said the decision to bring Irving back, reversing course after deciding on Oct.
“I walked to the arena today, and there’s several lines out there for COVID testing, and there’s 200, 300 people waiting in line to be tested.
The times I’ve gone to see him, these are about forming bonds and forming friendships and having conversations about the family, sometimes basketball and so forth.
Before entering health and safety protocols, Irving had to return negative COVID-19 test results on five consecutive days before he could join the team because he is unvaccinated.
“Everyone’s case is quite different,” Marks said when asked what kind of hurdles Irving has to pass before returning.
Also, Irving currently is ineligible to play on March 1 at Toronto because travel for unvaccinated players across the border into Canada will be prohibited starting in January.
Irving has not been with the team on a regular basis since the first week of training camp in San Diego in late September to early October.
But yeah, this virus concerns me in every corner and aspect of its short life so far.
The league’s top scorer at 29.7 points per game, Durant also is among the league leaders in minutes per game at 37.0, the most minutes he has averaged in eight years, since he averaged 38.5 minutes per game during the 2013-14 season.
“Our objective from an organization, from a team, from the GM, from the coach, from the players, everyone knows what they’re here is to win basketball games.
Forward Paul Millsap entered the protocols Monday and was followed by Aldridge, James Johnson, DeAndre’ Bembry and Jevon Carter on Tuesday morning.
Last season, he was deemed to be a close contact of someone who had tested positive and had to miss four games while he was placed in a seven-day quarantine.
The Nets will have to wait for an undetermined time before they will be able to see their Big Three back on the floor again.
“We are just facing so many unknowns, so many variables right now,” Nash said when asked how the plan might work with a part-time Irving come playoff time.