NBA Rumors: Kyrie Irving will be a sought after free agent in 2019. The Boston Celtics need to do whatever is necessary to convince Irving to stay long term. Kyrie Irving’s best long term move would be to stay in Boston.
When Kyrie Irving wanted out of Cleveland, he had a list of teams he wanted to be traded to. The list included: Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, and San Antonio Spurs.
Boston reportedly was not a team he wanted to go to.
The Celtics, however, were the team that he was dealt to. Looking back on the trade with Cleveland, it is pretty easy to say that the Celtics got the better end of the deal.
With NBA Free Agency 2019 just a season away Boston may be feeling a little nervous about whether they can keep their prized point guard. Rumors have started floating around that Kyrie may give the New York Knicks a serious consideration.
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What? The Knicks?
The New York Knicks are a team that has not been relevant for a very long time. In fact, the last time the Knicks had anybody’s attention was when Pat Riley was the head coach. Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, and John Starks were the guys running the floor at Madison Square Garden.
Many NBA pundits like to talk about a player’s legacy, but Kyrie is still forming that legacy. Forming that legacy with a storied franchise like the Boston Celtics will only cement Kyrie Irving’s stature in the NBA.
Kyrie needs to be looking at where he will be able to win another title or two. Boston is that spot. The Celtics are closer to winning the NBA Championship than the Knicks are.
Kyrie will take the court with Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Gordon Hayward this season. That line up has Eastern Conference Finals at the minimum written all over it. At best they are in the NBA Finals with a shot at a ring.
“You play to win the game” is what Herm Edwards says.
I’m sure Kyrie wants to win, but how much does he want to win?
Kyrie needs to figure out if titles or personal glory are more important to him.
Winning cures all. You win and the accolades follow.
On the other side of this potential move are the New York Knicks.
The New York Knicks don’t know what they have going into next season. New Knick head coach David Fizdale has a new rookie in Kevin Knox, so there is uncertainty there. New York will also have last seasons first round pick Frank Ntilikina and their 2018 free agent pick up, Mario Hezonja.
The big question mark is when Kristaps Porzingis will be available coming off a terrible knee injury. Some people think it will be at least until March that Porzingis will be out. Without The Unicorn, the Knicks will be a team that struggles to win games.
Why would Kyrie Irving want to walk away from a great team and head coach in Boston?
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If he is of the mindset that he wants to be the guy to bring back the Knicks to championship form that is one thing, but he hasn’t lead the Celtics to any championships. There is still a job to be done in Boston.
You don’t leave a franchise unless the job is done.
Deep down in Kyrie Irving’s head he wants to be considered one of the greats, but to attain that greatness Kyrie needs to stay on the parquet floor in Boston.