Kyrie Irving's status as a part-time player for the Brooklyn Nets could soon be coming to an end. New York City mayor Eric Adams told reporters Wednesday that the city is planning to phase out its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for indoor spaces, which would ultimately make Irving eligible to play in home games at Barclays Center. Adams said he "can't wait" to lift the long-debated mandate, and that changes could occur "in the next few weeks."
Since early January, Irving has only been allowed to participate in Brooklyn's road games, as he's unvaccinated against COVID-19. Based on the comments made by Adams, it's only a matter of time before the seven-time All-Star plays in front of a hometown crowd. NBA commissioner Adam Silver also shared his thoughts on New York's mandate last week, telling ESPN that Irving's inability to play home games didn't make much sense.
"There's no guarantees here, but Kyrie Irving returning full-time to the Nets is exactly what they needed... If they're healthy, they're going to kick ass in the playoffs. That's a big if," JR said during the JR SportBrief show on Wednesday. "The East is ridiculously competitive right now. And the Nets, I'd say you have to favor them. But there's a couple of things here. Do they have enough time to develop some type of chemistry?
"This is the most important thing: are they going to be healthy? Can you take a look at this Big 3, and think that, even if they do develop chemistry, that if any one of the three goes down, are they beating the Heat? The Bucks, the defending champs? The 76ers?... The Nets can beat anybody, the Nets can win a championship... If the Nets are healthy, I'll favor them to win the Eastern Conference and go to the Finals. They have to stay healthy..."
Irving, who made his regular season debut on Jan. 5, has played in just 14 of Brooklyn's 59 games, and is averaging 24.1 points, 5.4 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 36.2 minutes. According to FiveThirtyEight projections, the Nets (31-28) currently have a 64-percent chance to make the Eastern Conference playoffs and just a 3-percent chance to reach the NBA Finals.
JR's complete thoughts on Irving's status and the Nets can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the JR SportBrief show on Twitter @JRSportBrief and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.