Kyrie Irving has missed seven games after being suspended by the Nets following a Tweet promoting an antisemitic film and his reaction to the backlash to that Tweet.
Now comes a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that Irving could return to the Nets lineup as soon as this weekend. That means Irving will be out Thursday night in Portland, his eighth game missed.“Kyrie is continuing his journey of dialogue and education,” National Basketball Players Association executive director Tamika Tremaglio told ESPN on Wednesday night. “He has been grappling with the full weight of the impact of his voice and actions, particularly in the Jewish community. Kyrie rejects antisemitism in any form, and he’s dedicated to bettering himself and increasing his level of understanding. He plans to continue this journey well into the future to ensure that his words and actions align with his pursuit of truth and knowledge.”
Tremaglio and the union have worked closely with Irving, the Nets and the NBA in helping him to author his own remedies to end the suspension, sources said. What might have started out as a rigid list of prerequisites evolved into Irving himself taking ownership of the process, which is what the Nets and the league hoped would be the case, sources said.
The Nets laid out six “remedial” steps Irving had to complete to return, but clearly Irving and the Nets have modified that some based on the wording from Tremaglio. We know about some of his actions to return, including apologizing in an Instagram post (right after he was suspended), plus meeting with both NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Nets’ owner Joe Tsai and his wife. The players’ union had pushed back on the steps – as had individual players such as LeBron James — saying if Irving apologized that should be enough.
Brooklyn has gone 4-3 with Iring out, although the Nets have lost their last two and have not looked good doing it. Kevin Durant is carrying a heavy load on offense, he could use Irving back to help with shot creation.
Maybe that happens Sunday.