Kyrie Irving has heard from Knicks fans _ both in person and on social media _ but for now he's trying to ignore the impending bonanza of his 2019 free agency.
"It's just a ways away, man. But it's already starting," Irving said. "As long as I could just divide the attention up and it just doesn't infiltrate what I'm focused on during the season, then I'm cool with it."
Irving is in New York promoting his movie about New York, "Uncle Drew," a comedy that features the Celtics point guard as a white-haired old man assembling his former teammates for one final tournament at Rucker Park.
Suspension of disbelief is required for viewing, and it's also recommended for any Knicks fans hoping for playoffs next season.
"I just hope my Rotten Tomatoes score is high," Irving said. "At least above an 85. Yeah, I know it's tough. Shoot for the stars."
Irving clearly isn't afraid of intimidating tasks, and there's real potential in him as the future star at the Garden. The West Orange, N.J.-native, placed the Knicks on his short list of desirable destinations last year after requesting a trade from the Cavaliers. He will be one of New York's primary targets in free agency in 2019 when it's prepped to wield enough cap space for a max contract.
Irving, 26, has one more year on his deal with the Celtics and already announced that he won't sign an extension before next season since it doesn't make sense financially (he'd make more money re-signing with the Celtics as a free agent, or signing with another team in 2019).
Either way, Irving is one year away from his first unrestricted free agency and he's already sick of the media reading the tea leaves.
"I had somebody dissect me saying I wanting to win a championship with the Celtics," Irving said. "On TV and saying, 'What is he actually saying here?' So I thought that was pretty funny.
" 'Kyrie is saying he wants to win a championship, what is he actually saying here?' "
Of course, the players should share the responsibility of turning free agency into a separate NBA season. LeBron James started with "The Decision," and Paul George is involved in a three-part SportsCenter series about his free agency this summer.
Teams _ like the Knicks _ devote multi-year plans around when they'll have cap space, hoping to maximize their appeal for that summer. Steve Mills might as well slap a bumper sticker on his car, "Knicks '19: Change We Need," or "2019: Make Knicks Great Again."
"Our goal is to make this an attractive place," Mills just after the draft. "This was our first opportunity. From the time we started meeting with guys in Chicago (for the draft combine). When we sit and talk to players, we want them to sort of get a really good feeling about the direction of where we're going. Who we are as people, what we see from this organization. And I think we did a good job of that in terms of making players understand who we are and what we're doing. And that will carry over into how free agents begin to feel about the organization and about our team and our coaching and the group of people we put together."
Labeling this year's draft as Mills' "first opportunity" is misleading since he was either the GM or president for the last four seasons, but the Knicks are selling the idea that Phil Jackson was the problem.
Whether that leads to Irving is something nobody can answer yet. But the point guard has star appeal _ he's the main character in a major motion picture _ and he has close ties to New York.
Most of the latter comes from his father, Drederick Irving, who is from the Bronx, played for the gauchos and was a Rucker Park MVP.
"It will always be home to me. I'm from New Jersey _ to just be clear," Irving said. "This is where I grew up, man."
