NBA Rumors: Teams would regret signing Kyrie Irving next offseason
By Zamir Bueno
NBA Rumors: Kyrie Irving’s injury history, combined with the financial commitment a team will have to take on to sign him, should give teams pause when pursuing him next summer
There is an old sports axiom that states a player’s best ability is availability. Unfortunately, NBA teams routinely ignore the adage because they get enamored with how a player performs on the court.
A prime example of this is the reports that both New York teams plan to pursue Kyrie Irving in free agency next off-season.
In fact, here is the exact report from Marc Stein of the New York Times:
"There have been “credible rumblings in circulation that the Nets plan to pursue Irving, right alongside the Knicks, should he become a free agent on July 1, 2019”."
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Kyrie Irving has missed 117 out of a possible 558 regular season games throughout seven seasons in the NBA due to injuries. During his tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie was sidelined for 95 out of a possible 476 regular season games with various ailments (including a broken left index finger and hyperextended knee).
The trend continued with the Boston Celtics this past season as he missed 22 regular season games and the playoffs due to a myriad of injuries (facial fractures, left quad contusion, left shoulder and quad soreness as well as knee surgery). Kyrie’s injury history is a big reason why the team lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
According to NBA.com, the Celtics averaged 108.7 points per 100 possessions with Kyrie versus 101.9 points per 100 possessions without Kyrie.
Consequently, NBA teams should abandon the potential pursuit of signing Kyrie Irving to a max contract and shift their attention towards Kemba Walker. Kemba entered the NBA in the same season as Irving and has played in 82 more games in that span.
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The 82 games allowed Kemba to eclipse Kyrie in total points and assists despite having lower per game averages in both categories. Walker has amassed 9907 total points (18.9 per game) and 2824 total assists (5.4 per game). On the other hand, Irving accumulated 9698 total points (22 per game) and 2420 total assists (5.5 per game).