Kyrie Irving has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Miami Heat due to a right shoulder impingement. 

Irving has missed 9 straight games with the injury.

Kenny Atkinson added that Irving has returned to the court. 

"First thing about Kyrie, he started on-court work, which is a real positive sign for us. He will be out for Miami. And then we'll see how it progresses. The fact that he started the on-court work is good news for us," said Atkinson. 

Several sources have indicated that the departure of Kyrie Irving and arrival of Kemba Walker has helped fill the atmosphere of the team.

“Night and day,” said one team source.

“You can feel it at all times,” said another source.

One source began telling Jay King of The Athletic in March that Irving and Kevin Durant had already decided to sign with the Brooklyn Nets.

“It never helps when someone doesn’t want to be there,” said a Boston source.

In a candid interview with Rachel Nichols of ESPN, Danny Ainge took responsibility for the issues that plagued the 18-19 season, particularly with Kyrie Irving and the issues Brad Stevens had managing their depth.

"Kyrie for his first year and a half was terrific for us, and I was hopeful that it was going to be a good marriage going forward," said Ainge. "But he really wanted to go home, and that's his choice, and I don't know why he gets all the blame. I mean, I'm the one who should be blamed for last year. We put a team together that just didn't have pieces that fit. We had a lot of talent, a lot of expectations. It's certainly not Kyrie's fault."

Nichols asked if Ainge believed it was his fault.

"I do think it was my fault. I think there's some things I wish I did different. In hindsight, we should have cleaned out the roster a little bit to make it easier for Brad. We had a deep roster. We were built for a longer run. We had a lot of guys that had a lot of success without Gordon (Hayward) and Kyrie, and the guys that had success without those two guys felt like it was their time for the spotlight. It just didn't mesh."

Spencer Dinwiddie and Luka Doncic have been named the NBA's Players of the Week for Week 5 of the 19-20 season.

Dinwiddie averaged 25.3 points, 6.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds as the Brooklyn Nets went 3-1.

Doncic averaged 37.0 points, 11.8 assists and 8.5 rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks went 4-0.

The Brooklyn Nets announced that Kyrie Irving will miss the next 3 games with a shoulder injury.

Irving, who has already missed the last 3 games, will games against the Knicks, Cavs, and Celtics.

Kenny Atkinson addressed Kyrie Irving's shoulder injury, saying he didn't think it would have any long-term ramifications.

Irving has missed 3 straight games with a right shoulder impingement.

"I don't think it's a long-term thing, but I wouldn't say we're being overcautious, Atkinson said. "I think he has a situation that's prevented him from playing. And like I said before, this is kind of like a collaborative thing -- we've talked about it, but this is the best course of action. Do I think it's like a long-term thing? Like I said, no. I don't think he could play through it right now, quite honestly ... Like I keep saying, the shoulder's just a sensitive (injury) -- especially for a point guard, right? It's like a quarterback -- the way he shoots it, passing, the whole thing. I think he's working through it right now. And we've got to work through not having him, quite honestly," said Atkinson.

There is no timetable for Irving's return.

Stephen A. Smith revealed he has heard negative things about the attitude of Kyrie Irving since joining the Brooklyn Nets.

Irving's mood has been a well-documented subject dating back to his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but especially during his tenure with the Boston Celtics.

"I am not hearing good things about Kyrie in Brooklyn," said Smith. "People are putting stuff out there. I don’t think it’s fair, I don’t know how accurate it is. If Kyrie’s listening, I’m telling you there is stuff circulating out there about him from an attitude perspective. I don’t think it’s right.”

Irving has recently been missing games with a shoulder injury.

The NBA has hired outside legal counsel as they continue to fight Spencer Dinwiddie's attempt to convert his contract into a digital token. The NBA wants to find a common ground with Dinwiddie on the idea, but they could subject him to penalties such as contract termination or suspensions without pay and fines if he goes through with his investment vehicle as currently constituted. 

“At the request of Spencer Dinwiddie and his advisors, we have reviewed a number of variations of their digital token idea,” Dan Rube, the NBA’s Executive Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, told The Athletic. “All of the ideas presented would violate collectively bargained league rules, including rules prohibiting transferring a player’s right to receive NBA salary, gambling on NBA-related matters, and creating financial incentives to miss games.”

The NBA initially said Dinwiddie couldn't assign his salary as a third-party transfer, but he owns the company handling the investment plan.

During a second meeting, the NBA said the issue is Dinwiddie's $12.3 million player option for 20-21.

Dinwiddie and the NBA are now at a stalemate with his third-year player option now being considered a "token" toward gambling. 

Kenny Atkinson praised Spencer Dinwiddie's aggressive mentality following the Brooklyn Nets' 117-111 win over the Chicago Bulls.

Dinwiddie scored 20 of his 24 points in the final 9 minutes of the game to help close out the win. 

"He took over,. His drives, how aggressive he was, understanding the mismatch, understanding when to get out up the blitz. He was just fantastic," said Atkinson.

D'Angelo Russell is the only Nets player to have scored 20 points in a 4th quarter prior to Dinwiddie, according to ESPN.

Dinwiddie emphasized that Kyrie Irving was still the leader of the team.

"I'm not Kyrie. He's gonna continue to lead this team and do a great job. I just tried to gauge what needed to be done to win the game. I'm not gonna be Kyrie. Kyrie might win MVP this year."

The Brooklyn Nets announced that Kyrie Irving will miss Saturday's game against the Chicago Bulls.

Irving was diagnosed with a right shoulder impingement earlier this week, landing his as questionable for Thursday night's game against the Nuggets.

Irving is averaging 28.5 points and 7.2 assists per game on the season.