There’s good news and there’s bad news when it comes to Kyrie Irving’s knee.
The good news is that it won’t affect his ability to play during the upcoming postseason. The bad news, however, is that one day that pain he is feeling likely will result in knee surgery.
Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge indicated that Thursday, shedding some light on Irving’s status during a weekly radio hit on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich”.
Among other things, Ainge said that Irving missing some time was expected and addressed when they acquired him via trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers this past offseason.
“There was a lot of discussion (at the time),” Ainge said Thursday, as transcribed by MassLive. “And that was a big part of it going forward too was Kyrie had the injury. So we knew there would be maintenance issues, but his long-term prognostication is good. He’s going to have some maintenance issues here and there. We knew coming into this year that he probably wasn’t going to be an 82-game guy. He was going to be a 72-, 75-game guy in order to keep him fresh for the playoffs. And that’s what it’s been. And we’re just extra cautious. We have the good fortune of being extra cautious right now. And we want him fresh and healthy. And we think that he will be come playoff time.
“He has some surgery that may need to happen,” Ainge added. “But maybe not this summer. Maybe the following summer or maybe the summer after that. I think that he could probably do it any time he wanted, but I’m not sure that it’s needed at this moment.”
Certainly a double-edged sword.
While that update as a whole is a little ambiguous, the C’s should be reassured that it likely won’t affect him the rest of this season, and that potential surgery isn’t necessarily an urgent need.
