Kyrie Irving has been ruled out for the Nets‘ Wednesday’s contest vs. Charlotte, which will be the 13th game he has missed this season. As a result, he can no longer play in 70 games in 2019-20, which means he’ll miss out on a $125K bonus in his contract, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out (via Twitter).
Irving’s contract with the Nets includes eight separate bonuses worth $125K, which could be worth up to $1M in total. The other seven are still in play, but some of those incentives are tied to games-played totals as well.
For instance, the Nets’ point guard can earn $125K for committing fewer than 2.4 turnovers per game and another $125K for attempting at least 4.6 free throws per game. But he also must play at least 60 regular-season games to receive those bonuses. We have the full details here.
As we wait to see when Irving will be able to return, here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Former Celtics first-rounder Guerschon Yabusele was recently fined 10,000 yuan ($1,421) by the Chinese Basketball Association for not paying sufficient attention during the pregame playing of the Chinese anthem, per an Associated Press report. Yabusele, a member of the Nanjing Monkey Kings, had his head bowed rather than directing his gaze toward the flag. The fine reflects China’s sensitivity over respect for national images, the AP report notes.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic takes a closer look at the 2019 lottery class and makes a case that the results from the group thus far have been pretty ugly. In a follow-up article, Hollinger identifies some of the silver linings from this year’s rookie class, including a player who went undrafted: Raptors guard Terence Davis.
- In an Insider-only article for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks breaks down every NBA contract, sorting them by expiring deals, multiyear pacts, and deals that can’t currently be traded.
