Sources told ESPN that the NBA and National Basketball Players Association agreed to reduce a player's pay by 1/91.6 for every game a non-vaccinated player is unable to play due to local COVID-19 vaccine mandates. This decision will have a significant impact on Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets star.
As a way of accounting for playoff, regular season, and preseason games, the reduction was agreed upon. Sources said that the teams will not be eligible for luxury tax relief due to the reductions in salary of players.
Two cities, New York and San Francisco, have COVID-19 mandates. This could affect players on the New York Knicks', Brooklyn Nets', and Golden State Warriors. Individuals must show proof of at least one COVID-19 shot in New York to be allowed into any gym, including Madison Square Garden or Barclays Center. In San Francisco, they must also have a complete vaccination.
These mandates have exemptions that do not apply to visiting players. They were both passed over the past few weeks. Two players, Irving and Andrew Wiggins from Golden State, were left out of the game.
Wiggins has been vaccinated since then.
Steve Kerr, Warriors coach, said Sunday that Andrew was vaccinated. He just said to me today that he was okay with us acknowledging it, and that that would be it. "I'm not going beyond that to answer any further questions."
Irving would then lose approximately $380,000 per home game if he is unable to play. This would add up to more than $15,000,000 if Irving doesn't get vaccinated.
Irving couldn't attend Brooklyn's media event last week due to it being held at Barclays Center. He joined the media day via Zoom from his home and requested privacy.
Irving stated, "I know I'll always be there no matter what" and that he would be there for his teammates and my growing tribe off-court.
"I am aware that the focus must be on the task at hand and there should be no distractions. This is what I did not want to create. With good intentions and a positive heart, I am trying to keep this going.
Irving traveled to San Diego with his team for training camp, but none of Brooklyn's stars participated in Sunday's Los Angeles preseason opener against the Lakers.
On Tuesday, the Nets will practice in Brooklyn. This would be Irving's first basketball-related injury under the mandate. Brooklyn will play preseason home games against Milwaukee on Friday and against Minnesota on October 14th, before facing the Charlotte Hornets in its first regular season home game on October 24.
Sean Marks, Nets general manager, said that everyone should be ready for the start in the regular season when he was asked about the team's vaccination status.
Marks stated Tuesday at the preseason news conference that Marks could not comment on whether they could play today. "There would be some people missing from that picture.
"I won’t go into the details, but we feel confident that everyone would be allowed to attend camp in the days ahead."
Marks answered the question "Correct" when asked if he thought the issue would be solved before regular-season games began.
