Nets Star Kyrie Irving Done in Brooklyn?

There is “growing pessimism” that start point guard Kyrie Irving will again play for the Nets after the latest incident, in which Irving shared a link to an antisemitic movie, per Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

As first relayed by Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, the Nets have created a list of multiple steps that must be taken by Irving before they lift his suspension, which the team has said will be at least five games.

But that list may have been created with the idea that Irving won’t complete the required steps, and would therefore be ineligible to return, per Stein, mentioning that the list consists of six “remedial measures” for Irving to accomplish.

“There is a feeling among some close to the process, I’m told, that the list was crafted with the knowledge that Irving would be unlikely to complete all six and thus could conceivably subject himself to potential outright release,” Stein wrote.

Irving, 30, is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $36.5 million this season. He is averaging 26.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists in the five games in which he did play.

So far, though, the pairing of Irving and forward Kevin Durant has failed to live up to expectations, with Irving missing time last season after refusing to be vaccinated and follow the New York mandate for all workers.

As Stein reported, Irving could meet with commissioner Adam Silver as soon as Tuesday. Silver himself announced in a statement, prior to Irving’s suspension, that he intended to meet with Irving.

“Kyrie Irving made a reckless decision to post a link to a film containing deeply offensive antisemitic material,” Silver said. “While we appreciate the fact that he agreed to work with the Brooklyn Nets and the Anti-Defamation League to combat antisemitism and other forms of discrimination, I am disappointed that he2 has not offered an unqualified apology and more specifically denounced the vile and harmful content contained in the film he chose to publicize. I will be meeting with Kyrie in person in the next week to discuss this situation.”