The summer of Kyrie Irving is upon us.
NBA rumor mills will be swirling up until July 1 as the Boston Celtics await Irving’s decision on whether he will opt out of his contract and become a free agent.
In fact, the rumors were churning well before the Celtics were eliminated from the NBA playoffs. Many believe the point guard’s time in Boston is over, and a union with either Kevin Durant or perhaps even LeBron James is likely.
But Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck was not ready to talk about the situation when he joined 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger & Mazz,” on Wednesday afternoon, dodging a number of inquiries.
“I’m not gonna comment, as I said emailing you guys, I’m really not going to talk about specific guys except in real generalities,” Grousbeck said when asked about Irving. “Kyrie has given us two years of strong effort. He’s gonna decide what he’s gonna do down the road. He hasn’t commented publicly, so I’m going to respect that.
“I have spoken to him,” Grousbeck added. “This is a process that’s going to go through longer than this week.”
When asked point-blank if the Celtics wanted Irving back next season, Grousbeck evaded the question and noted that he would not comment specifically on any particular player on the roster, Irving included.
“I’m just not going to comment about anybody on the roster,” Grousbeck said. “We’ve got 15 guys and we’re going evaluate all of them and I’m not going to comment on one person and then not comment on another because it’s going to send a negative or a positive signal.”
Grousbeck also took a weird pivot to point out agents pulling strings with the media to spread rumors and push agendas.
“I’d also like to step back and just have more of a general comment, which is a lot of a lot of the stuff that is out on the internet, on the net, about almost anything, often times when you trace it down — if you can — comes from agents. And it doesn’t necessarily come from the agent of a player that is referenced.
“There’s reasons, there’s agendas,” he added. “It’s, you know, someone saying, ‘somebody’s going somewhere.’ It might actually benefit this guy’s player who is trying to get a job somewhere else. … The stuff out there from now ’til July 1 is going to be at least 50-percent made up.”
It sounds as though the owner may be frustrated with the rumors that have been buzzing about Irving, and the notion that Irving is 100-percent done in Boston. In the interview, Grousbeck also talked about how hard it was to love this Celtics group, and at the center of that group was Irving. So it’s tough to gauge where exactly the owner may stand when it comes to Irving’s future with the team.
