The Boston Celtics put together a strong season and an impressive playoff run despite two major stars suffering season-ending injuries. But with the postseason looming it seems the Celtics are worried one of those stars might not stick around for much longer.
Kyrie Irving had a strong first season with the Celtics after forcing a trade there over the summer. A lingering knee issue required surgery and cut his season short, but Celtics fans are eager to finally see him play extended time with Gordon Hayward. But Hayward is under contract long-term, and Irving does have free agency looming next summer.
And while Celtics general manager Danny Ainge is considered a “thief” for engineering the trade that brought Irving from Cleveland, there’s real concern that the team might only get two seasons out or Irving before he splits for greener, well, less green pastures.
Chris Mannix said on Yahoo’s NBA Podcast that he believes the Celtics are ‘scared’ that Irving will leave in free agency next Summer.
“I think they’re scared,” he said on his podcast. “I think they’re scared and should be scared to some degree of Kyrie Irving walking in 2019. I know he had a great year, but you know there are people in Cleveland that will tell you that the Knicks should be considered a real threat for Kyrie Irving. Because Kyrie had talked about it, about playing with the Knicks with some players in that Cleveland locker room from what I was told.
Irving has done well in Boston and the team is certainly set up to compete for the Eastern Conference crown next year. But Irving is a player more concerned about his legacy as a player than anything else. If playing with, and perhaps “fixing” the Knicks is more important to him than building a dynasty in Cleveland or Boston, there’s certainly good reason to wonder if he’s a Celtic for the long haul.
This offseason will be all about LeBron James and where he plays this fall, but in a way, it’s quite fitting that next year might be the Summer of Kyrie.
(via WEEI)
