Why the Knicks should want All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving

Conjecture #1: Kyrie Irving sat out last season

Unless you’ve been underground for the past two years, you are not new to the controversy surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine. I am absolutely not here to dive into a personal debate over the vaccine or the mandates that surround it.

The only reason we need to talk about it is because it played such a pivotal role in Kyrie Irving and Brooklyn’s 2021-22 season, and it is a huge reason why many fans were discouraged with Irving to begin with.

Irving is certainly not new when it comes to drama on and off the basketball court and I believe this is something he truly embraces. Say what you want about him, but he is truly one of the most authentic athletes in pro sports, and he is not afraid to put his own beliefs and choices ahead of other interests, such as money.

This was true when he decided to leave Boston to play closer to home and remained true when he missed almost the entirety of the past NBA season fighting against New York’s vaccine mandate.

Again, I am not here to pick a side or voice my thoughts about Irving’s decision to forego the vaccine and remain sidelined for the majority of the year.

The fact of the matter is, there was a mandate and Irving did not oblige. The mandate was not an NBA enforced rule, it was enforced by the state and was a non-basketball related issue. The teams in New York were the only teams that had to abide by these parameters.

So, yes, it was Irving’s choice to not abide by these rules, thus resulting in him not playing. I understand that many believe he is selfish for making this decision, and that he alone takes the brunt of the responsibility for the Nets’ struggles and Harden’s untimely departure.

Kyrie Irving’s vaccine issues wouldn’t be an issue for the New York Knicks

The fact of the matter is that there were other players in the league in Irving’s situation. Since they didn’t play in New York (or Toronto), their decision never made headline news. Opposing players were allowed to play in New York if not vaccinated, so essentially, anyone other than Irving.

I bring up this point because Irving caught significant slander for his decision and it seemed like he was isolated as the sole player alone in this. In fact, he was not, he was just the player that got martyred. The mandate even came as a source of confusion for NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who questioned the fairness of the policies back in February.

If you still want to call Irving selfish, more power to you, but to use it as a reason to avoid him as a player is not entirely fair. It wasn’t like Irving chose to sit out without any context or reason or had ever done that in the past. If Irving had been a Dallas Maverick, per se, there probably would have never been an issue with this at all.

Going forward, the new mandates in New York have lifted these restrictions, so Irving would be fully available for the entirety of the NBA season.