Danny Ainge Opens Up About Kyrie Irving’s Verbal Commitment To Celtics

Kyrie Irving was supposed to be in Boston for the long haul. The words came straight from the horse’s mouth.

But nothing is official until the dotted line is signed, and Irving ultimately elected not to do that with the Celtics.

Shortly before the start of the 2018-19 NBA season, Irving spoke before a large group of Celtics season ticket holders at TD Garden and informed them he planned on re-signing with the C’s the following summer. The star point guard, as we all know, changed course and chose to join the Nets in July of 2019.

As fate would have it, Boston and Brooklyn are set to meet in the first round of the 2021 playoffs. One day before the start of the best-of-seven series, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge looked back on Irving’s declaration and change of heart.

“I don’t think he had some master plan for doing that,” Ainge told the Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy. “I don’t think it was preconceived.”

Ainge continued: “Yes, yes I do think he meant it. And I think his first year went excellent here. I think he liked it here and that’s why he said that at the beginning of his second year — he was having a wonderful time.”

Asked why Irving might have flip-flopped, Ainge simply chalked it up to, “Life happens.”

Regardless of how Irving feels about the Celtics and the city of Boston, he probably isn’t going to hear many cheers from Green Teamers when the Nets visit TD Garden for Games 3 and 4.