Kyrie Irving says Kevin Durant’s injury won’t spur him to get vaccinated

Kevin Durant‘s knee injury, which is expected to keep him out 4-6 weeks, won’t change Kyrie Irving‘s mind about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, Adam Zagoria of Forbes.com writes. “Kev’s gonna heal, Kev’s gonna be OK,” Irving said on Monday after the Nets lost in Cleveland. “And we’re going to have to deal with that as his teammates, but in terms of where I am with my life outside of this, I stay rooted in my decision and that’s just what it is.”

Irving will continue to be limited to road games unless he gets vaccinated. He says that will remain the case the rest of the way.

“I’ve made my decision and I’m standing by it…I stay rooted in what I believe in,” Irving said.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

• The Celtics will approach the trade deadline with the intent of building around their two best players, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (video link). He said Marcus Smart, Dennis Schroder and some young players are available, and Boston would like to find another playmaker or wing player. Their approach “is to build around Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, not to break those two up,” Wojnarowski said. “The hard part for Boston is what are the other tradeable assets they want to move on from? They don’t want to trade Robert Williams, their young center. That’s a player they see at the center of what they’re doing moving forward.”
• Kemba Walker missed his ninth straight game Monday due to a sore knee. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau doesn’t want him back until Walker is confident he can play on a regular basis. “The big thing regarding Kemba is I want him to feel as good as possible, and a player like him in the situation he is in, I want him to trust where he is with his body,” Thibodeau said. “When he’s ready, he’s ready. He’ll let us know. We trust him. What I don’t want [is] to get into a situation where it’s on-off, on-off.”
• Cam Reddish has yet to make his Knicks debut due to a sprained ankle but the newly acquired forward believes he can blossom in New York, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I feel like I can be a star,” he said. “I feel like I could be a legit star. That’s what I’m working to be. It’s pretty simple.”