NBA Rumors: With rumors swirling around his potential departure from Boston, we explore the five best possible landing spots for Kyrie Irving
The summer of 2019 will bring us another hot NBA free agency. With some of the moves that have been made in the season so far, teams are clearing space for NBA’s best stars this summer. There will be plenty of big-name free agents, including Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, and others.
One that sticks out with the uncertainty of his future is Kyrie Irving.
After losing to the Warriors in five games in the 2017 NBA Finals when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie was traded to the Boston Celtics for an injured Isaiah Thomas. Along with Kyrie went his five-year, $94 million contract he signed with the Cavaliers after the 2015-16 season. This contract included a player option on the last year, in which, he can opt out and look to sign with another team.
Describing Irving’s time so far with the Celtics as frustrating would be an understatement. After having a career year his first season with the Celtics, he had multiple injuries throughout the year, including soreness in the knee he injured in Game 1 of the 2015 Finals against the Warriors. He underwent surgery on that knee on the day after his birthday in 2018. That forced him to watch his young, inexperienced Celtics team make an incredible run during the playoffs that ended in a sluggish Game 7 against the LeBron-led Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After a slow start to this season, Kyrie Irving began picking up where he left off last season, but so did his injuries. He also has to deal with the impatience of being that veteran leader amongst the younger players like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier.
After Kyrie spoke to LeBron James on the phone and apologized for the ugly break-up between him and the Cavaliers when Kyrie asked to be traded, many rumors have swirled around about a possible reunion between the duo.
With free agency possibly on his mind, here are five possible destinations for Kyrie Irving this summer.