Kyrie Irving Trade Rumors: Nets Have 'Taken Incoming Calls' on Star PG

The Brooklyn Nets reportedly aren't actively trying to trade point guard Kyrie Irving despite his indefinite absence because of New York City's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday the Nets have "taken incoming calls" about Irving but aren't making any calls themselves to inform other teams he's available:

The seven-time All-Star's availability for the 2021-22 NBA season came into question after New York City announced in August proof of vaccination would be required for events at indoor venues such as Barclays Center, the home of the Nets.

After a period of uncertainty where it seemed possible Irving would play road games and sit out home games, Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks confirmed last week the guard "will not play or practice with the team until he is eligible to be a full participant":

"Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose. Currently the choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team, and we will not permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability. It is imperative that we continue to build chemistry as a team and remain true to our long-established values of togetherness and sacrifice. Our championship goals for the season have not changed, and to achieve these goals each member of our organization must pull in the same direction."

Irving hasn't spoken to the media since the Nets' statement, but he took to Instagram Live saying he's doing "what's best for me":

The 29-year-old Duke product, who would be immediately eligible to play in most other NBA cities, also made it clear he has no plans to retire over the issue.

While speculation has emerged of a potential swap between the Nets and Philadelphia Sixers featuring Irving and Ben Simmons, Wojnarowski noted there's been no discussions between the teams about that type of blockbuster so far.

Simmons skipped most of training camp while awaiting a potential trade and, while he returned ahead of the regular season, he's now taking time for medical evaluation on his mental health, per Woj.

For now, it sounds like the Nets are willing to wait out the situation for a while to see whether anything changes with Irving's vaccination status or NYC's vaccine mandate unless they are completely blown away by an offer brought to them.

It'll be interesting to see whether that changes in the coming weeks and months if Irving remains away from a team that entered the year with championship-level expectations.