Kyrie Irving Fined By NBA; Will Brooklyn Nets Guard Lose More Money?

Kyrie Irving probably knows that his holdout will eventually cost him, and these could be telling. The NBA fined the six-time All-Star $50,000 for violating the league’s health and safety protocols.

Irving will also forfeit the pay due to him for the games he missed as a result of his five-day quarantine, roughly worth $900,000 as of this writing, The Associated Press' Brian Mahoney reported. Considering he would have to sit out before he can return for the Brooklyn Nets, he is likely to lose about $1 million of his $33.5 million salary by the time he decides to see action once more.

He becomes the second player in the Nets fold to draw such a hefty fine. The first one was James Harden some months ago when he was still with the Houston Rockets, The Guardian noted.

From here, it will be interesting to see what steps the one-time NBA champion will take. The wise move would be to resume playing and honor his contract. But then again, the reason behind him sitting out games remains a mystery.

The Capitol Hill attack is being singled out as one of the reasons, but most believe there is something deeper. That could include his feelings over the recent moves of the Nets without his say.

Regardless of the situation, Nets general manager Sean Marks is keeping an open mind. The club has yet to explain the reason behind his absence, although Marks and Kevin Durant claimed they have already had talks with the top pick of the 2011 NBA Draft.

“So I don’t want to speculate and say why he’s out and so forth. I’ve had conversations with him and I’ll continue to have conversations and we look forward to him being back in the gym, where he will address this,” Marks stated.

Word earlier got out that Irving had the option to sit out the entire season. If that holds, the 6-foot-2 guard could face losing more money. Hence, it all boils down to what is forcing him to hold out and miss games. Unfortunately, there is no credible reason given right now and such is harming his credibility.