“If Kyrie Irving were on our team, we would have kidnapped him and given him the shot!”: Zach Lowe discloses how GMs are puzzled by Kevin Durant turning a blind eye 

Kyrie Irving’s anti-vax policy might have cost the Brooklyn Nets a real chance. Kevin Durant turning a blind eye is an equal culprit.

Another team that has faltered this postseason is the Brooklyn Nets. The stacked team from New York was out for revenge after a narrow exit in the conference semifinals last year.

The Nets team looked ready. But as fate would have it, nothing went their way, nothing. James Harden got traded and Kyrie Irving refusing to get a vaccine led to him sitting out most games.

By the time he returned it was already too late. The Nets were the 7th seed facing an inspired Boston Celtics team. They got swept and were sent home packing.

While there is no clear indicator that the root cause was one person, there is weight in the fact that Kyrie Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated might have had unintended consequences.

Also read: ‘If Kyrie Irving leaves Nets, Lakers are 3/1 favorites; if Kevin Durant leaves, Heat are 5/2 favorites’: Speculation about the Nets’ demise leads to wild NBA championship odds

Zach Lowe discloses that several GMs would have forced Kyrie Irving to get the shot and were shocked by Kevin Durant’s blind eye!

Nobody in the NBA was pleased with the fact that Kyrie was strongly opposed to the vaccination mandate. While it is his prerogative, the rules around the league were forced to bend.

As Zach Lowe revealed, a lot of GMs around the league would have put the pressure on Kyrie and perhaps even played their hand into ensuring he got vaccinated.

A lot of them were even shocked that the other superstar in the Nets, Kevin Durant did not bat an eyelid. While they may have been close friends, ultimately they are basketball players.

Championship mentality means doing anything you can to win. Sadly, the Nets did not do that.

Also read: “I would LOVE to see Kyrie Irving with Jimmy Butler on the Heat!”: Stephen A. Smith is dying to see how eccentric ‘king’ Kyrie plans to make his way to Miami this offseason

About the author

Jeet Pukhrambam

Jeet Pukhrambam is The SportsRush's Lead Editor for Basketball. After freelancing for five years as an independent writer, Jeet created thousands of blog posts and articles. He now covers intriguing news reports and throwback stories on all things NBA. His interest in NBA started with the ascendancy of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2016-17 season. Since then, Jeet has managed to coalesce his knowledge of the game and his writing to create pieces that are reflective of the current state of the league. Now, he ensures that The SportsRush produces the highest quality of writing. In his free time, he enjoys playing football, cooking, traveling, and dancing to techno. Jeet takes pride in his critical thinking, music playlists, and his love for spaghetti.

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