"He's one of the reasons why I came here" - James Harden on wanting Kyrie Irving to remain a part of the Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets will play for the first time on their home floor against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks without All-Star guard Kyrie Irving in a preseason match. This will mark the first time this season that Irving will miss a game in Brooklyn because of New York City laws requiring athletes to have at least one dose of the vaccine.

The Nets will only have the Big Two of James Harden and Kevin Durant, granted they are healthy, for the scheduled home games as long as Irving refuses to get vaccinated.

James Harden, when pressed for comments regarding Kyrie Irving’s uncertainties due to the latter’s anti-vax stance, had this to say:

“I want him to be on the team, of course. He’s been a huge part since I’ve been here, a huge part of our success. The success we did have last year, we were kind of finding a rhythm, that chemistry that we’ve built. I can remember last year that one road trip we had, me and Kyrie. He’s just a special talent that you don’t really see often, so of course, I would want him to be on the team. He’s one of the reasons why I came here.”

The Brooklyn Nets are completely unsure how things will turn out as they are not going outside of New York City for practice games. Kyrie Irving has also refused to inform anyone regarding his vaccination plans. How this will affect team chemistry and dynamics will only be up for speculation.

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Will the Brooklyn Nets eventually trade Kyrie Irving if he continues to miss games?

James Harden and Kyrie enjoying their time during an All-Star game

To this point, Kevin Durant, James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets are openly and publicly expressing their support for Kyrie Irving. Just how long this show of support will last is anybody’s guess because the long season and the grind of the NBA could make this saga spiral out of control.

The popular rumor is that the whole trade scenario will only depend on Kevin Durant’s word as he is the face of the Brooklyn Nets. If KD decides that despite their friendship, the goal of winning a championship has to be the biggest priority, then Kyrie Irving could find himself on the trading block.

The Brooklyn Nets are the heavy favorites to win the NBA championship with Kyrie Irving. Without him, and with a grueling 82-game schedule ahead, their title aspirations could just end up with another playoff heartbreaker.

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