At this rate, the most surprising thing that could happen with the Boston Celtics this summer would be Kyrie Irving exercising his player option for the 2019-20 season — literally everything else is still on the table.
The Celtics have myriad decisions to make, and they can get started on that process much earlier than they hoped after the Milwaukee Bucks sent them packing in a decisive manner Wednesday night. All of those decisions likely hinge on what Irving decides to do. The All-Star guard has a player option that almost everyone expects him to turn down and instead elect to become a free agent.
It’s well known at this point that Irving said before the season began he planned on re-signing in Boston. That feels like forever ago. Irving and the Celtics endured an awful, disjointed season marred by Irving’s increasing moodiness. Brad Stevens never could get the chemistry experiment right during the regular season, but the saving grace that his club would turn it around in the playoffs remained. Irving played well in the Celtics’ first-round sweep of the Indiana Pacers as well as Game 1 against the Bucks, but he was awful in Boston’s four losses. The All-Star made just 30 percent of his shots after Game 1.
But there’s a reason the Celtics decided to try and build around Irving. At his best, he’s an elite shot-maker who might be the best of his generation when it comes to finishing at the rim. He’s one of the 15 best players in the world, and you don’t win in the NBA without elite talent. Irving might also be key in the Celtics’ longstanding quest to acquire Anthony Davis. Convincing Irving to re-sign and then trading for the New Orleans Pelicans big man would go a long way in helping to erase any hard feelings felt by this spring’s early exit, not to mention it would serve as a pretty hard reset with two legitimate superstars making up the team’s core.
It’s a difficult decision, and that’s assuming Irving is still actually open to returning. There have been countless rumors and numerous pieces of speculation that Irving is ready to jet off to New York or even Los Angeles to start the next chapter of his NBA career. If that happens, the Celtics will have no choice but to go down a different path, perhaps giving it another go with Stevens and the kids, a formula that technically got them farther than the Irving project.
So, Celtics fans, the question is this: If Irving actually is open to returning to Boston, are you willing to, in his words, “have him back?”
