Kyrie Irving to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery
The news about Kyrie Irving’s shoulder has gone from bad to worse.
Just days after it was announced that the Brooklyn Nets star would be out indefinitely with a shoulder problem, Brooklyn Nets head coach Sean Marks told reporters that Irving will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.
Speaking at a press conference in Philadelphia ahead of the Nets game against the Sixers, GM Sean Marks says Kyrie Irving will get surgery and be out for the season.
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) February 20, 2020
Irving’s right shoulder issue has bothered him all season — he’s already missed 26 games this season because of it. Irving was also getting routine cortisone shots to deal with the pain, but now the Nets are calling it a year for their star point guard.
Irving will finish his first year with the team after signing a four-year, $141 million contract last summer with only 20 games played. He was productive in those games — 27.4 points and 6.4 assists per game on a .595 true shooting percentage — but only getting 20 games combined from him and Kevin Durant is a less than auspicious start to the pair’s Brooklyn tenure.
The Nets are seventh in the East right now and have managed to stay above water even when Irving wasn’t playing, but losing Irving is far from ideal.
There’s still a lot of basketball to be played this season, but the Nets will now have to ride the likes of Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert in the backcourt if they want to stay in the playoff picture.
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