It's Becoming A Real Possibility That Kyrie Irving Will Be A Full Time Player In The Near Future

Rocky Widner. Getty Images.

Pretty important update! Considering as it stands right now Kyrie would only be eligible to play in 8 of the Nets final 23 games, if there's a legit chance the Nets could maybe double that number I'd say that's a very big deal. If you are someone who wants to go argue about the politics surrounding all this, be my guest. Go nuts. Personally, I do not care one bit about that. Politics are the worst and always will be. I care about this for basketball reasons and basketball reasons only. There are some games down the stretch that could be pretty important to the Nets playoff seeding. How about home against CHA on 3/27 or home against MIL on 3/31? How about home against CLE on 4/8? Potentially having Kyrie for the homestand of DAL/POR/UTA would certainly improve their chances and that comes in mid March. For a team that is going to be looking to break out of the play in, you could argue that becomes a lot more likely if they are able to have Kyrie available for all games, not just road games (that aren't in TOR and NYC). 

I do have some questions though. Did the Nets have any sort of idea this could become a reality? If so, how did that impact what happened with Harden? Was he out regardless, even if he knew there was a strong chance Kyrie could play? Or, was everyone under the impression this part time issue would be how it was the entire year/postseason and the Nets were proactive about it? Would they have made the trade if they knew Kyrie could be a full time player before the season ended? I find that fascinating. If Harden wanted a title, is he closer with a healthy KD/Kyrie alongside him or what he currently has in Philly? Hard to say since they only played 16 games together in BKN, but they were flat out unstoppable in their one healthy playoff series together.

It pretty much goes without saying that the ceiling is certainly higher for this BKN team if Kyrie is a full time player. It also could impact how they approach the end of the regular season. If this isn't going to be changed by the playoffs for some reason, it makes sense that the Nets strive for a lower seed, something outside the top 4. You want Kyrie to play as many games as possible so homecourt wouldn't really the same advantage for them as it is for others. But if he's a full time player? My guess is that changes the strategy a bit. Maybe now KD doesn't get rest days to be ready for the postseason because a higher seed is still in play. 

Remember what we know about Ben Simmons. He hasn't really shown the ability to be a legit #2, especially in a playoff series. That's why Kyrie's availability is so important. It changes the dynamic of the roster and how they play. It's a lot harder to gameplan against a Nets team with Kyrie on the floor than just Simmons and KD. You can play Kyrie on or off ball, you have a legit versatile defender to help make up for Kyrie's issues on that end, and it changes pretty much everything about how the Nets will play. 

This has been a season long issue that has clearly impacted the Nets. Just look at their record. The fact that there seems to be a pretty good chance that could all be lifted with time to get acclimated before the playoffs is a pretty big deal not just for the Nets, but really for the entire Eastern Conference playoff race.