Kyrie Irving’s first season with the Brooklyn Nets is shaping up to be a wash.
The Brooklyn Nets point guard is “likely” to undergo surgery on his injured right shoulder, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Thursday, citing NBA sources.
If Irving has the operation, his expected recovery timeline almost certainly will rule him out against the Boston Celtics on March 3 at TD Garden and even March 21 at Barclays Center.
Nets star Kyrie Irving is likely to undergo procedure on his right shoulder and miss extended period of time, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 20, 2020
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson confirmed Tuesday Irving will be out indefinitely but he refused to speculate over whether the 27-year-old will miss the rest of the regular season.
Irving has been out since Feb. 1 due to a knee injury. A shoulder injury cost him 26 games earlier this season, and he re-aggravated the problem at some point this month.
Irving has missed both games the Nets have played against the Celtics this season, sparing himself from rude treatment from Boston fans, who are angry about his role in the C’s’ disappointing 2018-19 campaign and subsequent departure to Brooklyn in free agency.
The Nets are currently in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, so Irving returning at some point in 2019-20 — be it during the regular season or playoffs — doesn’t appear to be out of the question.
