Kyrie Irving remains away from the Brooklyn Nets as he deals with an undisclosed personal issue and his ability to influence the franchise may be less strong now that they have traded for James Harden.

"I think Kyrie is going to have to explain what's transpired here in the last week," said Adrian Wojnarowski on ESPN. "Ultimately, teams have to be able to count on you. If there's issues, if there are things they need to help Kyrie Irving work through, like any organization with a great player, they are going to be there to do that. 

"Ultimately, they need to know you have seriously committed to this endeavor, this group, this team. Kyrie Irving has to be a leader on this team. He has to be a leader for good.

"I think for the Nets, they need to know that. Bringing James Harden in changes that dynamic. This is a team now that has three MVP-level players on it. I do think, perhaps, the organization gained a little leverage now over Kyrie and over his future by landing James Harden."