Yesterday brought with it the news that Kyrie Irving would make a return to the Brooklyn Nets for away games later this season. (Irving’s lack of a COVID vaccination makes it impossible for him to play Nets home games — or, for that matter, to play away games against the Knicks and Raptors.) On the heels of that news comes another update on all things Irving-related: namely, that he’s now entered the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
As an article at ESPN notes, this is above and beyond the five days’ worth of negative tests that Irving would have to complete before rejoining the Nets. The article doesn’t have many details on when Irving could expect to be cleared to reunite with his teammates.
The NBA recently announced an expansion of its protocols as a response to the Omicron variant. These changes include increased testing and a greater number of places where players and coaches are required to wear masks. The effects of Omicron might also lead to a temporary expansion of team roster sizes to counteract the number of players affected by the coronavirus.
Irving isn’t the only Net entering the league’s COVID protocols at this time. His teammate Kevin Durant is as well, according to ESPN’s report. This brings the team’s number of players in the protocols to nine total — an alarming state of this new variant’s effect on the sport.
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