NBA: Filling out our 2019 free agency superlatives

A big star moves to a major market: Kyrie Irving to the New York Knicks

In a sense, the future of Kyrie Irving is kind of a toss-up. As it stands, there are about four or five different teams that could realistically pick him up. However, once all is broken down, the two markets that are most likely to pick him up are Los Angels and New York. Ruling out the Clippers, that really narrows the team search down to three: Lakers, Knicks, or Nets?

Although he and former teammate (an example of this in years past) LeBron James has since made up after Irving’s disastrous Cleveland exit, the chances that he wants to play second, or maybe even third string with AD, seems unlikely. Adding on to that, the Lakers are already in financial trouble for the offseason, and most likely wouldn’t be able to add Irving even if they wanted to.

So what’s the deciding factor between the Nets and the Knicks? D’Angelo Russel and MSG. With reports that the Nets are unlikely to keep Russel should they sign Irving, there may be a little tension in that front office between Russel guys and Irving guys. Not to mention that Russel has been loyal to this Nets team and is now playing at an All-Star level, and the fact that, as much as I hate to say it, Irving runs when things get tough, there’s a good chance that the Knicks get Irving this summer.

Not to mention the fact that the Knicks are “New York’s Team”, and that MSG is a historic stadium, and any star who plays there, whether for the Knicks or not, seems to have nothing but great things to say.