We know by now that the Boston Celtics have some trepidation that star point guard Kyrie Irving will bolt in free agency when he has the opportunity to do so next summer. The New York Knicks have been listed as a possible destination, and as the season has come to a close people have begun wildly speculating about Irving -- someone even proposed him heading back to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for a package centered around LeBron James.
We’re not there yet, and as is often the case in June, much of this is just simple online prattle from the Twittersphere, and nothing to be paid much attention to. However, Irving has released some public comments, including those most recently in a New York Times feature about him. Part of that feature included a comment by Irving that was actually cut from the final product.
The writer of that column, Sopan Deb, put the cut response from Irving that included information about his upcoming decision with the Celtics.
Via Twitter:
This doesn’t add much to the conversation in reality. We all know that where players land in free agency or trades can change based on many factors, especially when we are talking about a guy who has a whole other season to play before he can even opt out.
Yes, Boston is currently weighing whether or not they should extend Irving to avoid his potential itchiness to join the free agent pool thanks to his player option. But that doesn’t mean that there are more reasons to expect to see Irving outside the TD Garden. It’s likely his influence will be additive to the roster they currently have, and that Boston will want to keep him.
Celtics fans don’t need to panic, and Danny Ainge has led them on the right path thus far. Whatever the decision is with Irving should be beneficial to the organization. Meanwhile, the offseason continues to heat up.