Getty Kyrie Irving squashed the free agency rumors
Kyrie Irving can become a free agent after the 2018-19 season, but the star point guard has already pledged his commitment to re-sign with the Celtics. Irving spoke about his future at a season-ticket holder event before the season.
“I’ve shared it with some of my teammates as well as the organization as well as everyone else in Boston,” Irving said per ESPN. “If you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here next year…I’m accepting it’s going to be a constant story. It’s a point in my professional career where it is a big-time decision. I’ve been away from Cleveland officially for a year now, and I’m finally getting acclimated in Boston.”
Irving will make $20 million this season, and technically has another year left on his current contract. According to Spotrac, Irving is set to make $21.3 million during the 2019-20 season but is likely to opt-out for a bigger deal even if he does stay with the Celtics.
Kyrie Irving Had Been Linked to the New York Knicks for 2019 NBA Free Agency
As you can imagine, the Celtics front office were excited that Irving decided to make his decision public. While the team was enthused, Celtics GM Danny Ainge told Boston’s 98.5 that the team was not surprised by the announcement.
“The fact that he wanted to announce that and just get it out there was not surprising to us,” Ainge said per Boston.com. “We felt like we were going to move forward with Kyrie for years to come. We had talked about it a little bit, but I guess that was just when he was ready to tell everybody he wanted to stay.”
Irving had previously been linked to the Knicks throughout the summer. According to The Ringer, NBC Sports’ A. Sherrod Blakely told the Bulls Talk Podcast prior to the start of the season that the Knicks were targeting Irving next summer in free agency.
“I’ve spoken with people within [the Knicks] organization,” Blakely said per The Ringer. “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. He is a guy they definitely want.”
Irving’s verbal commitment is non-binding, but it seems unlikely he would publicly committ to the team then back out this summer. Irving’s comments will likely minimize some of the rumors that would have followed the team during this season. Instead, the team can enter the 2018-19 season with excitement over a fully healthy squad.