As COVID mandates recede, Kyrie Irving's return not (yet) assured, but stay tuned for late-season Nets' comeback. Harden hits it off with 76ers.

Does New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the former Brooklyn Borough President, want to be the guy who ensured star Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving could play home games, thus enabling the unlikely but not impossible reconstitution of a rebuilt team, allowing it to climb in the standings and become the NBA's most likely champion?

Sure he does, and maybe the science agrees.

But he's not ready to do it just yet. 

See, he has rescinded the requirement for vaccination to enter establishment like arenas, but not for city employers, likely because that would force him to backtrack regarding city employees recently fired for not getting vaccinated.

But if the Nets continue a likely comeback--thanks to the return, expected soon, of superstar Kevin Durant, and more--Adams may have some more ground to give, perhaps by playoff time.

I wouldn't bet against it, given the glaring inconsistencies regarding 1) allowing unvaxxed visiting players to play and 2) allowing Irving into the building as a spectator, but not a performer.

here's Eric Adams on Kyrie on CNBC:

"It would send the wrong message just to have an exception for one player when we're telling countless number of New York City employees 'If you don’t follow the rules, we won’t be able to be employed.'" pic.twitter.com/N8dbv094SR

— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) February 28, 2022

The tide changes

As NetsDaily reported 2/16/22, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver observed, not unreasonably, that New York City's vaccine mandate was inconsistent, since it only apply to home team players, not visiting ones.

Adams then acknowledged that the rule is “unfair," but he was reluctant to change it. The Daily News editorialized 2/19/22 that the city's policy was inconsistent, and suggested that "requiring everyone to show vaccination status to enter a restaurant or concert hall or gym ought not stay in place indefinitely." 

However, as noted, that separate mandate applies to private employees.

Revising the history

NetsDaily noted 2/16/22 that Harden, now claiming that Philadelphia had been his first choice in 2021 but instead went to the Nets, had previously said Brooklyn was "on the top of my list."

Inside Kevin Durant's Role in Brooklyn Nets' James Harden Trade, Bleacher Report explained 2/15/22:

As more and more Nets personnel faced the reality approaching the trade deadline that Harden wanted out, Durant's approval mattered more than anyone else's.

"KD didn't want to get rid of James," one person familiar with the two superstars said. "But he knew it was over." 

...For weeks he had grown weary of Harden's purported commitment to the franchise. When Harden first took to the bench with right hamstring tightness, Durant was among the Brooklyn figures who were skeptical of the injury's severity. 

There's more to that awkward dynamic, stemming from training camp, Irving not getting vaccinated, and disagreements over the team's offensive style.

Nets looking up

Despite their struggles--entering the All-Star break as the Eastern Conference's eighth's seed!--the Nets, wrote Daily News sportswriter Kristian Winfield, still believe they could win it all, with the return of Durant, the addition of former Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons, and other role players gained from the James Harden trade.

James Harden And Ben Simmons Got The Moves They Wanted. Will They Work Out For Their Teams?, Jared Dubin wrote for 538, concluding:

[Simmons'] youth and the two first-round picks Brooklyn received in the deal might extend the Nets’s championship window, but that window is almost certainly not open as wide now
 as many expected it to be when the Nets began the season among the title favorites. Given the team’s obvious ambitions when it made the Harden trade last year, that has to be disappointing.

As for Philly, this deal has to be [GM Daryl] Morey’s dream come true; he has been adamant in the past that any team with at least a 5 percent chance of winning the title should be all in. With Embiid playing at an MVP level, he rightfully believes that his Sixers are in that group of teams.

Meanwhile, the Nets signed another veteran looking for a chip: free agent guard Goran Dragic, good insurance, when Irving can't play.

Meanwhile, Steve Lichtenstein wrote, Still Waiting On The Theoretical Nets, noting the absence of various injured players, including sharpshooter Joe Harris:

Can a team as stacked with talent as Brooklyn overcome such a low seed and march through the playoff tournament? Anything is possible, but it’s certainly not ideal.

NetsDaily called the Nets' deals "a hedge against a failed attempt to win it all in this unfortunate of a season."

Ups and downs

Or, maybe not. On 2/26/22, the Nets, with just Irving and a supporting cast--no Durant, no Simmons--beat the defending champ Milwaukee Bucks, who, while lacking two key role players, had their three stars in gear. That could be a turning point.

The next one would be Durant's return. Then Simmons. Then Irving plays home games. Just not so fast. Meanwhile, Harden, at least, is thriving, to the Knicks' detriment.

I’m gonna go get the papers, get the papers: back page edition. @JHarden13 goes 2 for 3. pic.twitter.com/boMKEYcOZX

— Robert Shields (@rshields37) February 28, 2022

But then Nets were crushed at home by the Toronto Raptors, without Irving, and some season-ticket holder are frustrated.

Season Ticket Holders should honestly get refunds based on the product giving to them this season. This is gross

— Shane (@therealsjc_) March 1, 2022

Then they went to Toronto, down four starters (including Irving), and lost by one--a moral victory, but one that, for now, points not to a guaranteed playoff spot but toward the play-in mini-tournament for those last playoff spots.