Despite speculation and media reports, Steve Nash said Monday that there’s been no official decision made whether Irving will make his season debut against the Pacers in Indiana on Wednesday.
“We’re hopeful but no determinations have been made yet,” said Nash in comments ahead of the Grizzlies game. “We’ll see how he does between now and then.”
Nash added that while he’s “hopeful,” the determining factors are how Irving feels and whether the team deems him safe to return to play. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported earlier in the day that Irving is expected to make his return against the Pacers.
With the schedule changes announced earlier Monday, Irving will be able to play 12 of the Nets next 18 games starting with the Pacers game.
The Nets head coach also provided medical updates on LaMarcus Aldridge (right foot soreness) and Joe Harris (ankle surgery). Aldridge, who was a late scratch for Monday night’s game is dealing with irritation with his right foot but the injury isn’t deemed serious.
“We’re hoping it’s not very severe at all. It’s some irritation that needs a little rest tonight,” said Nash on Aldridge, echoing what he said about Irving. “We’re very hopeful.”
As for Harris, who is recovering from left ankle surgery, he’s still weeks away from a return, according to Nash. The Nets head coach said he isn’t quite sure where his sharpshooter is in his rehab process but stressed the importance of Harris not having any lingering effects on his return.
“It’s settling with some of the irritation and then some of those high-intensity workouts will ramp up to that. That’s next in the cards but letting the irritation settle and then we’ll ramp up accordingly,” Nash said. “I couldn’t put a timeline on it but I do feel confident and this is something that’ll lose itself and we won’t look back.”
“To be honest, I’m not exactly sure what he’s able to do right now because there have been different iterations of his rehab. We think we still got a couple of weeks in that ballpark. We’ll see how it goes,” Nash added. “It could take longer than that but like I said, whatever the length of time is it, I just want it to be behind him when he comes out of it. We all feel pretty confident in that.”
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