No shot for Kyrie to play for Brooklyn this season with no shot

Sorry, not sorry, Kyrie Irving, but those hopes that incoming New York mayor Eric Adams will relax the city’s vaccine rules to allow “World B. Flat” to suit up for the Nets after the inauguration at the turn of the new year?

Adams let it be known Friday night: Nope.

There’s always being the backup quarterback for the Packers this week? For as rightly as Aaron Rodgers got roasted for his disaster of an interview with Pat McAfee, in which he continued to — at least according to the NFL — lie about his unvaccinated journey, and it is better that Irving was honest about his situation… Irving is still completely full of shit.

The Nets did win without Irving in Detroit Friday, moving to 6-3, but not without more struggles for James Harden.

Harden did have a triple double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, but his adaptation to the NBA’s revised foul protocol clearly is not all done. A career 25.1-point per game scorer, is now at 17.7 through nine games.

Kevin Durant going for 29 points and 10 boards helped against the Pistons… as did playing the Pistons, who are now 1-8.

There’s still time for Irving to figure out that vaccines save lives and that the mandates are a public health issue, not a workers’ rights issue. Unfortunately, that would also require Irving admitting to being wrong.

But the Nets really are going to have to figure out what to do: wait for Irving and hope that what they have is enough, even if he never comes back, or try to trade the AWOL superstar, knowing that there’s no way they’ll get equal value, but they could get the last piece of a championship puzzle. That’s probably a question that Durant and Harden have to help answer, weighing their personal relationships against their competitive drive.

There’s plenty of selfishness in any decision not to get vaccinated, but this is a clear example of where Irving’s stubbornness makes things more complicated for others in his life. Good for the mayor-elect not letting him off the hook for that just because he’s famous.