Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons sagas reach critical point for Brooklyn and Philadelphia

The immediate future of the NBA Eastern Conference hangs in the balance, courtesy of two extremely talented, enigmatic point guards. 

The offseason has been tumultuous for both Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons, two of the Association's premier backcourt players. Irving has declined to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, which would prohibit him from playing for the Brooklyn Nets in the city of New York due to its vaccine mandate for arenas.

And Simmons requested a trade during the offseason due to growing tension between him and the Philadelphia 76ers organization, specifically coach Doc Rivers and All-Star big man Joel Embiid.

However, as of this week, there appear to be resolutions in both situations – but they might not be the ideal resolutions for either franchise. 

Let's begin with Irving.

Nets GM Sean Marks said Tuesday that Irving will not be allowed to play or practice with the team until he is able to be a full participant. Although Irving was reportedly given permission to attend practices last week because the Nets' facility was deemed "a private office building," Marks' announcement Tuesday eliminated that possibility as well.

"He has a choice to make, and he made his choice," Marks said of Irving in a virtual news conference on Tuesday. 

Irving has spent the past two seasons in Brooklyn but has only played a combined 74 of 144 regular-season games. He also missed the final three games of the Nets' East semifinals series against the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks with a sprained ankle.

With a healthy Irving, alongside Kevin Durant and James Harden, Brooklyn defeated Boston in the first round in five games, winning by an average of 15.5 points in their four victories. 

And despite Harden going down with a hamstring injury early in Game 1 against the Bucks, the Nets won Games 1 and 2 by eight and 39, respectively. 

However, Irving's injury in Game 3, combined with a hobbled Harden, proved too much for the Nets to overcome, and they fell in seven to Milwaukee. 

Coming into the 2021-22 season, Brooklyn is the favorite to emerge with the Larry O'Brien Trophy next June, but those odds will undoubtedly shift if Irving is not in the mix for the Nets.

Still, on Tuesday's edition of "Undisputed," Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe unanimously agreed with Brooklyn's decision to move on without Irving if he is not able to be with the team full-time.

"[If you wanna be great], there's no balance," Bayless said. "You have to pay a severe price that can affect your personal life, your home life – it's what is required. And Kyrie does not wanna pay that price right now. And they're all cool with it, but now it's time to move."

Shannon Sharpe agreed. 

"They said, ‘You know what, Kyrie? When you wanna get vaccinated and make sacrifices like everybody else has made, we welcome you back with open arms. But until then, we don't do the part-time.' … You either all in or you all out."

The Irving saga, clearly, is nowhere near its end, but the situation in Philadelphia is at least moving in one direction. However, whether that's the right direction is up for debate.

After holding out during training camp and missing three preseason games, Ben Simmons officially arrived in Philadelphia on Monday and is set to rejoin the 76ers' camp.

Simmons and the Sixers had an unceremonious exit out of last year's playoffs, losing in seven games to Atlanta in the East semifinals. In that series, Simmons scored less than eight points on four occasions and shot the ball fewer than seven times on five occasions.

He scored a combined 19 points in Games 5-7, prompting some harsh criticism from the media, fans, coaches and teammates. 

Now, even though Simmons is back – meaning he won't lose anymore money for missing games – does that mean Simmons is ready to fully dive back into the team structure?

And, can the team achieve its ultimate goal with Simmons?

Chris Broussard isn't so sure, and said as much on "First Things First." 

"I get the excitement in Philadelphia in the organization about Ben being back, because now you've seemingly crossed a bridge. But there were problems anyway. … With Ben, he's back, but it's not all good. They want to win a championship and they are not winning a championship. … Until he starts shooting outside shots, he's a liability."

The jury is still out as to whether Irving will play this season, and how Simmons and the Sixers will repair their relationship, if at all. 

If Irving returns and Philly reintegrates its All-Star point guard, chances are Brooklyn and Philadelphia could once again represent the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference playoff structure. 

If not? Well, just like the tenor of both franchises' offseason, the answer is simple: Who knows what will happen?

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