Kyrie Irving made his feelings about the New York Knicks public. As a result, the summer of 2019 plot thickens that much more.
Kyrie Irving is a smooth operator. He doesn’t slide into the DM’s or send you flowers to your job. However, he knows how to let someone know that he’s into them.
And the New York Knicks are indeed hoping that he’s into them. Irving made some interesting comments prior to the Celtics matchup with the Knicks on Friday night, via Chris Iseman of the North Jersey Record Irving stated.
“I respect the Knicks organization,” Irving said. “Obviously they are making moves to position themselves for this upcoming summer. So I wish them the best.”
Irving prior to the season made a public declaration in front of the home fans that he planned on signing with the Boston Celtics long-term. Fast forward several months and the Celtics have not necessarily been world beaters in the Eastern Conference. Irving has struggled with controlling his frustration with some of the younger players on the team.
The Knicks, having traded Kristaps Porzings, Tim Hardaway Jr, Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke to the Dallas Mavericks earlier this week, essentially purchased a ticket to the dance. They’re clearing major cap space on their way to having two max-contract slots available for this summer.
With that in mind, Irving’s comments regarding his commitment to the Celtics are certainly a headline grabber.
“But at the end of the day, like I said, I’ve spent the last eight years trying to do what everybody else wanted me to do in terms making my decisions and trying to validate through the media, through other personnel, managers, anybody in this business and I don’t know anybody [expletive],” Irving said. “So for me I think that the confidence that I have in myself and my abilities, I want to be able to control what I want to control.”
Now for Knicks fans, there is still a long way to go. It’s incredibly rare for an All-NBA talent to sign with a team that currently has 10 wins. As a matter of fact, it’s even rarer for two players with All-NBA talent to sign with such a team.
But the Knicks, for all their years of ineptitude and poor management, have probably created the most buzz in the league surrounding the team since 2010 when they entered the LeBron James sweepstakes. The difference now is that the Knicks can create room for two max-contract slots and allow free-agents to team up and play in the big apple.
Only time will tell whether Irving will be one of those players. History tells us no. However, Knicks fans now having something else to root for besides the accumulation of ping pong balls: the demise of the Celtics.
