Kyrie Irving Will Make $19 Million Not Playing; Kevin Durant Still Hopeful

While Kevin Durant is hopeful the Kyrie Irving situation will work out, Kyrie stands to make $19 milion not playing a single game for the Nets.

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Kyrie Irving is standing strong and firm on his stance to not get vaccinated before the start of the official NBA 2021-2022 season. After his recent Instagram live, it’s clear he has no plans on doing so, either. Many believe he will give in, but enough evidence has shown us that he will stand on what he believes in regardless of who likes it. As long as he is unvaccinated, we will not be seeing Kyrie on the court, but he promises he isn’t retiring.

Last night, after the Nets game, ESPN is reporting Kevin Durant addressed the decision to not let Kyrie play unvaccinated.

“Definitely want Kyrie to be around,” Durant told reporters on Thursday. “I wish none of this stuff would happen, but this is the situation that we are in. Kyrie made his decision on what he wanted to do and he chose to do what he wanted to do, and the team did the same.”

“It’s on me to just focus on me, and do my job, and let those two parties handle that situation. I want our whole team together, and I want us to be at full strength, but sometimes it don’t work out that way. But I am still positive that things will work out the best for both parties.”

Perhaps the most insane part of Kyrie not playing is that he will be leaving $380,000 per game on the table and potentially lose more than $15 million for the season. The flip side to that is Kyrie is one of the highest-paid players in the league and without playing a single game will collect $19 million and STILL be one of the 100 highest-paid. The biggest risk on the table, for now, is up to the Nets if they decide not to offer him a $185 million dollar contract extension. With endorsements and other business ventures, it’s clear money isn’t an issue for Kyrie.