NYC Mayor Finally Sounds off on Kyrie Irving’s Return to Home Games Amid Impending Mandate

The Nets assembled a monstrous roster last year in a bid to win their first NBA championship. However, now they have lost James Harden to the Sixers, Kevin Durant is out injured while Ben Simmons continues to work on his conditioning. Kyrie Irving, on the other side, can’t play home games. Moreover, NYC Mayor quashed his hopes of playing at the Barclays Center.

The Brooklyn Nets are having a roller-coaster season. Their trio of Harden, Durant, and Irving is broken and they have a new star at their helm- Ben Simmons. The Nets led the eastern conference for some time, before Durant’s injury. Now they sit in the play-in spot with a 32-30 record.

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Kyrie Irving has been a part-timer for the Nets this season. But he is grateful that he at least gets to play this season despite his stand on the health and safety protocols. There were reports of relaxation in the safety mandates of NYC, which hinted towards a possible Kyrie return to NYC. However, New York City mayor Eric Adams admitted that the 29-year-old would not be able to play at Barclays Center yet.

New York City Mayor says Kyrie Irving playing home games sends wrong message

Eric Adams, NYC mayor, recently gave an interview to CNBC. During the interview, Adams expressed his desire of getting Kyrie back on the court at the Barclays Center. However, he also added that it’s not possible as of now, despite the impending mandates.

“I want Kyrie on the court. I would do anything to get that ring so badly, I want it,” Eric Adams said on CNBC.

“But there’s so much at stake here and you know I spoke with the owner of the team. We want to find a way to get Kyrie on the court. But this is a big issue. I can’t have my city close down again. And it will send the wrong message just to having an exception for one player when we’re telling the countless number of New York city employees ‘if you don’t follow the rules you won’t be able to be employed in the garden’.”

While everyone was excited to see Kyrie as a full-timer for the Nets, Eric Adams’ comments are bad news. Kyrie has made his stand clear regarding the health and safety protocols and has been adhering to the instructions laid out to him.

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Brooklyn Nets, however, are affected the most by these events. They sit 8th in the Eastern Conference and if the table stays like this at the end of the regular season, they will have to play in the play-in tournament to qualify for the playoffs. However, Kevin Durant is making significant progress and could be back soon.