Why Jackie MacMullan Believes Kyrie Irving Will Re-Sign With Celtics

Prior to his season ending due to knee surgery, Kyrie Irving was cementing himself as one of the most exciting Boston Celtics in quite some time.

And if one NBA expert is right, he’ll have a chance to continue to build his legacy beyond next season.

Irving’s contract will be up at the conclusion of the 2018-19 campaign, but during an appearance on WEEI’s “Dale and Keefe,” ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan indicated that she would be “really surprised” if Irving didn’t re-sign with Boston.

MacMullan was asked by host Dale Arnold if she had heard anything that indicates Irving re-signing with the Celtics was in danger. For C’s fans, her response was encouraging.

“No quite the opposite honestly,” MacMullan said. “I sense somebody that wants to make it work here, that feels like this is home to some degree, you know his dad played here we know the history and all that. And really, when you look at the season and how it went, if you’re Kyrie Irving how could you have any complaints? The team has made you the undisputed No. 1 player on their team.

MacMullen continued: “I thought Kyrie, all sort of the whispers that you heard about him in Cleveland, they all proved to be fairly unfounded here in Boston in terms of him being off to himself and not part of the team. I didn’t see any evidence of that. I think this is a very good fit for both of them. But you know it comes down to money and a year is a long way away and things happen. But I’d be really surprised if he doesn’t re-up with the Celtics.”

Certainly some infallible logic there.

It is apparent that Irving has thrived while in Boston. He helped pace the C’s to one of their best seasons in years, all without Gordon Hayward.

And with Hayward locked in for three more seasons and a young core still in place for the Celtics, there presumably is plenty of incentive for Irving to continue calling Boston home for years to come.