Omicron's Impact on the NBA and Brooklyn's Backtrack on Kyrie

A look at how the league will move forward in the face of omicron's surge, and the Nets' hypocritical shifting stance regarding Kyrie Irving.

Yes, this is a basketball newsletter. Yet, unfortunately, it's impossible to write responsibly about the NBA, or really any topic, nowadays without recognizing COVID-19's outsized impact. 

Coronavirus outbreaks are running rampant in several teams throughout the league. A total of 65 players were forced to enter Covid health and safety protocols just last week alone, including each of Brooklyn's Big Three: James Harden, Kyrie Irving (more on him in a bit) and Kevin Durant (this season's MVP frontrunner) as well as last season's Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The NBA is certainly not alone. The two other professional North American sports leagues are also dealing with skyrocketing infections. Over the past seven days, more than 150 NFL players and nearly 70 NHL'ers entered Covid protocols.

This latest spike in cases is tied directly to the prevalence of the highly contagious omicron variant, which is driving a new phase of the pandemic throughout the planet. Ever since its emergence in November, omicron's stunningly high transmissibility alarmed epidemiologists. Unfortunately, the mutation has proven to be as virulent as initially feared.

The U.K. set a record for the most daily coronavirus cases reported in the country throughout the entire pandemic on Thursday, only to see that record broken on Friday. Then, on Saturday, the U.K. reported over 12,000 new omicron cases, a nearly 49% increase from the day before, according to government data, with omicron surpassing delta as the most dominant strain in the country. In Denmark, omicron cases are doubling nearly every two days. Tyra Grove Krause, the chief epidemiologist at Denmark's State Serum Institute, told WaPo that she believes "the next month will be the hardest period of the pandemic." 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, omicron represented less than 3% of all coronavirus infections in the United States (with delta accounting for nearly 97%) just ten days ago, but omicron is now surging. 

Fortunately, early data indicates the symptoms associated with the omicron mutation may be milder and that the new mutation is far less deadly than the delta variant. Nonetheless, a drastic uptick in cases could put a strain on hospital systems worldwide. As we have learned from previous spikes over the past 18 months, hospital admissions lag behind infections. "A tidal wave of omicron is coming," Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Monday after revealing that Britain had registered its first death of a patient with omicron. U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid declared in Parliament Monday morning that health experts are forecasting hospitalizations and deaths to "dramatically increase" in the coming weeks, adding that omicron's growth rate is "phenomenal" and that "no variant of covid-19 has spread this fast." 

On the bright side, we received some excellent news from Moderna on Monday morning. The company announced that a booster shot of their vaccine significantly raises the level of antibodies capable of combating omicron. Its ​​50 micrograms booster dose leads to a 37-fold increase in the level of neutralizing antibodies that can prevent an infection, the company stated, while a full 100 microgram dose raised antibody levels about 83-fold compared with pre-boost levels. Dr. Paul Burton, Moderna's Chief Medical Officer, told Reuters the vaccine is "highly effective, and it's extremely safe. I think it will protect people through the coming holiday period and through these winter months when we're going to see the most severe pressure of omicron."

Shifting back to the U.S. and the sports world, the NBA postponed five games on Sunday afternoon, including three scheduled to be played later that evening. Fans were left wondering if commissioner Adam Silver and the league office would potentially press pause on the 2021-22 season altogether. 

However, that scenario remains extremely unlikely, primarily because it would be a crippling blow for the NBA financially. Saturday's five-game Christmas Day slate is the league's biggest TV day, by far. It's a lynchpin in the NBA's billion-dollar deal with ABC/ESPN. Furthermore, pausing the season for a few days, or even a few weeks, certainly does not guarantee Covid issues will dissipate. In fact, current projections suggest the national Covid picture may be even more daunting in early to mid-January. In addition, the majority of players that have entered protocols in the last week have mainly been asymptomatic.

Late last night, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the league and the Players Association agreed on revised rules that will permit teams to add replacement players. The amended rules "will remain in place until Jan. 19 -- at which time the league will give teams further guidance on how things will proceed from there," according to Woj, who explained that teams will be allowed to sign a replacement player for each positive Covid-19 among an active player already on the roster. So, for instance, the Knicks, who currently have five players in health and safety protocols, can sign five replacement players.

These replacement players won't count toward the salary cap or impact luxury tax payments. In addition, there won't be a limit on the number of games players signed to two-way contracts are allowed to be on a team's active roster for the remainder of the season.

The Nets 180 on Irving

The Nets announced Friday that they were welcoming back All-Star guard Kyrie Irving. 

Irving, who is unvaccinated, won't be able to play at home due to New York City's vaccine mandates but will be eligible to suit up for road games. "We arrived at this decision with the full support of our players and after careful consideration of our current circumstances, including players missing games due to injuries and health and safety protocols," general manager Sean Marks said in a statement. "We look forward to Kyrie's return to the lineup." The decision to bring Irving back was "fully supported" by Nets owner Joe Tsai, Marks and coach Steve Nash, according to Woj.

From all indications, Nets players would have been happy to have Kyrie around part-time since the start of the season, but this abrupt about-face from Brooklyn's front office and ownership is significant. 

Back in October, when Marks announced that Irving would not be allowed to play or practice with the team until he was vaccinated, the GM stated the franchise reached the definitive decision because it was "imperative" that the Nets "continue to build chemistry as a team and remain true to our long-established values of togetherness and sacrifice." 

"We're looking at putting together a group of people that are going to be able to participate fully," Marks told reporters. "That's what this comes down to, and we're not looking for partners that are going to be half-time." Marks claimed it wouldn't be "fair" to the rest of the team if he allowed Irving to abide by a different set of rules than his teammates.

As the initial controversy surrounding Irving was brewing, Nets owner Joe Tsai spoke out loudly on the societal impact of the coronavirus and vaccine hesitancy. 

Tsai also owns the New York Liberty, a WNBA franchise that shares Barclays Center with the Nets. One of the Liberty's better players, guard Asia Durr, has missed two entire seasons while dealing with long-haul Covid-19 symptoms. Durr lost more than 30 pounds battling the virus and said earlier this year on an episode of HBO's "Real Sports" highlighting the difficulties faced by individuals whose Covid symptoms have lingered for months and years, that she "still deals with many ailments, including fatigue, headaches and a feeling of "fog" when it comes to concentration and memory." 

In late September, when asked about the Nets hardline stance toward Irving, Tsai told the New York Post that "Kyrie talks about it as a sort of personal choice issue, which I respect," but Tsai added, "this is a serious virus. It could be a deadly virus, and it could also — if someone catches Covid — it could actually incapacitate them for a long period of time. We have one player, Asia Durr, who is still suffering some issues, so we know how serious it is," Tsai said. "We also know that the vaccine is safe and also extremely effective."

Tsai continued: "I'm a total believer in having that in the fact that vaccines actually protect from getting sick, getting real sick. Now the other thing is, I also believe that taking the vaccine is also a social good. It's just part of social responsibility, because you're not only protecting yourself, but you're protecting other people. That's my personal view, so that's why we're supporting vaccinations at Barclay Center. We advocate for getting vaccinated, because it truly will save lives, and it will truly protect other people. Don't underestimate the social responsibility part of it. It's not just about yourself; it's about protecting the people around you. So that's kind of my view of the vaccine."

Fast forward to last Friday, after the Nets announced that Irving would be welcomed back to the team. The team's owner spoke with the Post once again, but this time he had changed his tune. "I've always said I don't want to make this a political issue," Tsai said Friday night. "My only religion is to win games and win the championship. That's where we are." 

"So I think a lot of people that are either pro-vax or anti-vax people are mad at me for taking one stance or the other. But I have said from the very beginning I'm not taking this as a political thing," Tsai told The Post. "I'm doing this to help the Brooklyn Nets win a championship. That's the thinking." 

Keep in mind that when Tsai and Marks made their initial comments concerning Irving and his recalcitrant stance on the vaccine, daily case counts in New York were a mere fraction of what they are now, especially in the city. New York reported over 28,000 new coronavirus cases Sunday, the fourth day in a row the state broke its record for the most daily cases reported since the start of the pandemic. In early October, NY was averaging fewer than 5,000 cases per day. Over the weekend, lines to get tested for Covid stretched out for entire city blocks in Manhattan and Brooklyn. With waiting times for tests increasing citywide, NYC will reportedly ship out upwards of 500,000 free tests to residents.

Marks released a statement Friday declaring that the franchise had "arrived at this decision" to welcome Kyrie back inside the building "with the full support of our players and after careful consideration of our current circumstances."

Look, let's not be naive; it's certainly not surprising that Brooklyn decided to bring Irving. Kyrie is one of the most talented basketball players on planet earth. That's indisputable. He's an almost unstoppable offensive weapon when he's healthy. And the Nets are desperate for healthy bodies. They currently have ten players in the league's health and safety protocols.

Does adding Irving increase the Nets' chances of winning games and securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference? Yes, absolutely. Thus, from a pure basketball standpoint, it's a no-brainer to bring back the all-world point guard, even if he only helps half the time. 

However, as noted above, when the franchise benched Irving before the start of the season, Marks definitively declared that part of the reason behind the bold decision was "to remain true to our long-established values of togetherness and sacrifice." 

When initially discussing his team's motives for sending Irving home, Tsai stated it was crucial not to "underestimate the social responsibility" of promoting the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Now, Tsai claims his "only religion is to win games and win the championship." That mentality is perfectly understandable and shared by the vast majority of owners across all sports. But if that's Tsai's newfound ideology, he should acknowledge it runs completely contrary to his prior protestations. ("We advocate for getting vaccinated... Don't underestimate the social responsibility... It's not just about yourself.")

The Nets' "culture" was lauded by many, and their owner and the GM were praised when they proudly announced their decision two months ago. Will they be criticized for their contrasting and conflicting statements now that Irving is back in Brooklyn?