The biggest question on the minds of the Boston Celtics faithful may not be how far the Celtics will go in the playoffs, with one of the most talented rosters that they’ve had in the past two decades and in a conference that found itself released from the stranglehold of 15-time All-Star LeBron James, who had been to the NBA Finals eight consecutive times while with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Just months before what’s going to be a pivotal offseason for Boston, the future of Celtics superstar point guard Kyrie Irving has been on the minds of everybody, from the longtime season ticket holders to players suiting up for opposing teams. It seems like it’s been ages since Irving had promised throngs of Celtics fans that he would re-sign with Boston and then, frustrated with teammates, the team’s progress and media speculation, opted to soften up on his prior commitment to return to the team in the offseason.
Yet, the twists and turns of his free agency drama has been constant. There’s been speculation that he and Jimmy Butler are interested in teaming up, that he and LeBron James are interested in rejoining forces and that he and Kevin Durant are planning to spurn their teams to sign with the New York Knicks in the summer.
The latest speculation is that Irving, similar to that surrounding Durant, would prefer signing with the Nets over the Knicks in the offseason.
Per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, “the Brooklyn Nets are also in the running for the enigmatic champion. In fact, some sources around the league believe that Irving prefers the Nets.”
“New York is expected to make a summer run at point guard Kyrie Irving, but the Brooklyn Nets are also in the running for the enigmatic champion. In fact, some sources around the league believe Irving prefers the Nets. In an interview done recently with NBATV, David Griffin — who was the Cavs GM at the same time Irving played for Cleveland — suggested that was the case. Coincidentally, Irving is scheduled to play in Brooklyn with the Celtics on Saturday.”
“I think Brooklyn is the fit that’s better for him in terms of his mindset,” Griffin said. “I think he likes what they’ve done there, culturally.”
The idea that Irving would prefer signing with the Nets over the Knicks makes sense from a purely basketball standpoint, with Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson earning respect from his peers around the league and the Nets themselves having shown steady improvement and showing themselves to be a team worthy of playoff-contention. Even without players of Irving or Durant’s caliber.
In fact, Brooklyn is currently ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. At 38-38, they’ve already won 10 more games than they won all of last season and 18 more games than they won in 2016-17, Atkinson’s first as head coach for the Knicks. They play hard, unselfishly and have maximized the talent on their roster, proving themselves to be the East Coast version of this season’s Los Angeles Clippers.
The Clippers are led by former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, if that gives any indication of just how fine of a coaching job that Atkinson has done.
Ultimately, with the Nets set to have up to $54.6 million in cap space without making any trades (per Spotrac), they’ll have enough to sign a max free agent or two players on near-max contracts. Nonetheless, whether Irving wanted to play by himself or with a player like Butler or Durant, then they present themselves as a better option than the Knicks on the court.
Though led by a respected head coach in David Fizdale and in line to draft a player like Duke University’s Zion Williamson this offseason, New York doesn’t play with the intensity or execution that the Nets do. They have fewer veteran players and established locker room leaders as well.
Players want to be on a team that they believe is headed in the right direction and though the Knicks have the potential to be that type of ball club, the Nets already are.
Regardless, the Celtics still present a better option for Irving than either the Knicks or the Nets from a basketball standpoint. They’re led by a renowned head coach in Brad Stevens, have already achieved a fair amount of regular season and postseason success under their head coach and they have far more talent than either New York or Brooklyn.
The only reason Irving would prefer to sign with the Knicks or Nets is if he simply wanted to leave the Celtics, period.
A scenario that only seems likely if Uncle Drew believed that Boston would be unable to reach their potential or if the Celtics’ camaraderie and team spirit paled in comparison to what Irving could find in New York.
