Far from "ghosting" the Celtics, Kyrie Irving has been very communicative to the Celtics as he enters free agency, Danny Ainge told NBC Sports Boston in a post-draft interview late Thursday night.
“Kyrie’s been good. He’s returned calls. He’s returned messages. He’s been excellent....” Ainge told Kyle Draper and Brian Scalabrine (more in the attached video).
There had been reports of the mercurial point guard not communicating at all with the team as he contemplates his future, followed by word earlier this week that he had signaled his intention to leave the Celtics and likely sign with the Brooklyn Nets.
Ainge, at both his post-draft press conference and his NBC Sports Boston interview, which concluded at about 1:30 a.m., said he couldn't talk about specific free agents, i.e., Irving and Al Horford - also rumored to be moving on from the C's - and player movement - the reported trade of Aron Baynes to the Phoenix Suns - because free agency doesn't begin until 6 p.m. on June 30.
“Wish I could tell you everything I know, but I can’t,” Ainge said at his press conference.
"I'm excited about our team going forward. I like where we're headed," Ainge said. "I like the group of core guys. I think it's going to be really fun. I think we're going to be a very competitive team again. I don't know exactly what the team is going to look like when it's all done. Free agency starts in 10 days or so, and we'll have more answers then, but I really like the core group of players we have."
As to who is making up that core, Ainge said he couldn't say.
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