Source: Maddie Meyer / Getty
New York Knicks armchair general managers should be very concerned.
With LeBron James taking his talents to the Western Conference, the Boston Celtics are now presumably the front-runners in the east, and Kyrie Irving knows it. He made it perfectly clear he is in the best situation at the moment and gave Celtics fans hope he won’t decline his $21.3 million player option after the 2018-19 NBA season.
In a sit-down with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, alongside fellow teammate Gordon Haywood, Irving crossed up Knicks fans dreams of him possibly donning the orange and blue by stating, “we’re pretty f-ing good here” when asked about his thoughts on his pending free agency.
His first season as a Boston Celtic, despite injury, got off to a lightning start with some putting him in the MVP talks early on. Even with both, his and Hayward’s absence the Celtics overachieved reaching the Eastern Conference Finals and were one game away from reaching the NBA Finals falling to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. His confidence should be high coming into the season based on the results of the previous one.
BUT that doesn’t mean he won’t change his mind and that he’s just saying re-upping with the Celtics is the right thing to say at the moment. This is the same guy who told a young Cavaliers fan some time ago that he would never leave them. We all know how that eventually turned out, so that possible rumored union with Jimmy Butler in New York, Irving has denied that rumor and stated he has not spoken to the disgruntled Timberwolves star since 2016 as reported by ESPN’s Jackie MacMullen.
Irving knows a good thing when he sees it and states the only thing holding him back from committing to the Celtics is the fact “there are financial implications involved.” If he does he, in fact, stay in Boston, he can sign an extension in July that could be worth $80 million.
So Boston, breathe easy for now, Uncle Drew is happy where he is.
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty
