The New York Knicks are going all in on 2019 free agency and it appears that the injury-prone Kyrie Irving is at the top of their list.
The future is unmistakeably bright at Penn Plaza. This is an odd place to be for the New York Knicks. The organization seems to have a concrete plan in place and although it feels odd, it doesn’t feel like fool’s gold this time around.
The Knicks could struggle without Kristaps Porzingis for much of the 2018-19 season, but their sights are set on the summer of 2019. A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston told the Bulls Talk Podcast that he thinks the Knicks will heavily target Kyrie Irving in free agency. Blakely said:
“I’ve spoken with people within [the Knicks] organization. They have made it absolutely crystal clear to me that—if they had their pick of guys that are going to be in the free-agent market [next] summer—Kyrie would be their first, second, third and fourth choice.”
Irving is a fantastic player. He’s a perennial All-Star and he already has a championship under his belt. He also seems like the perfect player to run pick-and-roll alongside Porzingis. There is almost no downside to signing Irving.
But the one red flag for the Knicks would be Kyrie’s health. He sat out much of last season after undergoing knee surgery. The Knicks already have one superstar with injury questions. Bringing in a second with these very same questions would certainly be risky.
Nevertheless, it may be a risk the Knicks are willing to take. When healthy, Irving is a top five point guard in the NBA. Pairing him with Porzingis — not to mention the surplus of young talent like Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina, and Mitchell Robinson — immediately turns the Knicks into a contender in the Eastern Conference.
It’s still too far away to know what will happen next summer. Things change quickly in the league. But for now, Knicks fans can dream of Kyrie Irving in the blue and orange.
