Sarah Stier
Guard Kyrie Irving will not play for the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday against the Orlando Magic.
According to ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Irving’s absence will be due to NBA health and safety protocols.
Irving has been absent from the team since last week for personal reasons and, if he doesn’t play on Saturday, it will be his sixth consecutive losing game.
During his absence, a video appeared showing Irving without a mask at what appeared to be a family birthday party.
As a result, the NBA announced on Friday that it fined him $ 50,000 for violating the league’s health and safety protocols:
ESPN’s Bobby Marks reported that Irving also lost $ 816,898 in salary for two of the games he lost.
The Nets are 3-2 without Irving in the last five games, but there is a lot of excitement surrounding the franchise following the acquisition of Houston Rockets’ owner James Harden on Thursday.
Harden will help to form arguably the NBA’s most prominent Big Three along with Irving and Kevin Durant. Nets coach Steve Nash said he should make his debut on Saturday against Magic.
That would give the Nets two-thirds of their new Big Three – a daunting prospect for opposing teams alone.
When Irving returns, Brooklyn will recover the six-time All-Star who also won an NBA championship in his time alongside LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Irving has appeared in just 27 games for the Nets in the past two seasons, but has been excellent on the court.
He averaged 27.4 points, 6.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds in 20 games last season and has averaged 27.1 points, 6.1 assists and 5.3 rebounds this season.
Durant and Harden won MVP awards, but as a point guard and lead handler, Irving can prove to be the straw that messes with the drink.