Entering the 2018-19 NBA season, the Boston Celtics were viewed as the No. 1 favorite team to fully dominate the LeBron James-less Eastern Conference and challenge the Golden State Warriors for the NBA championship. Unfortunately, having one of the most talented rosters in the league did more harm than good for the Celtics as most of their core players failed to build good chemistry.
After suffering a huge disappointment, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck said in a recent interview with Boston Herald that he expects his team to have the “most uncertain offseason” they ever faced since the summer of 2007, where they tried to convince Paul Pierce to stay and surround him with players that helped them win the 2008 NBA championship. As of now, the Celtics made it known to everyone in the league their No. 1 priority in the 2019 NBA offseason is to bring Kyrie Irving back to the fold.
Irving recently opted out of the final year of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent next July. Though he’s not ruling out re-signing with the Celtics, multiple signs are pointing out that he will be leaving Boston to chase for his second NBA championship title somewhere else. Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck admitted that he hasn’t talked to Irving about his impending free agency, but they remain very optimistic that he will choose to stay with the team.
“I haven’t talked to Kyrie in those terms, and our two free agent negotiators are [head coach] Brad [Stevens] and [general manager] Danny [Ainge],” Grousbeck said. “But Kyrie knows how we feel about him, that we feel very positive about him, and the discussions will go on over the next few weeks.”
BREAKING CELTICS >>>> According to well-placed sources, Kyrie Irving to the Nets isn’t (and can’t be) done yet … but it may as well be. All indications he’ll sleep well in Brooklyn. @SteveBHoop has the scintillating latest on a hot @celtics offseason: https://t.co/BOFMSx3N2X pic.twitter.com/MyIIijUfyO
— Boston Herald (@bostonherald) June 13, 2019
Kyrie Irving’s decision during the 2019 NBA free agency period is expected to have a huge effect on the Celtics’ offseason plans. If Irving signs with another team, it is highly unlikely that the Celtics will still consider emptying their treasure chest to acquire Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans. However, it seems like the Celtics are already formulating alternative plans in case they lose Irving this offseason.
“There’s definitely scenarios being spun inside the basketball office,” Grousbeck said. “I’m there every day listening to them, that involve a number of players. I’ve heard a lot of scenarios. We’ll just see what happens.”
Grousbeck didn’t give anything specific, but if Kyrie Irving takes his talents somewhere else, Boston reportedly doesn’t have any plan of undergoing another rebuild. Instead of getting younger, the Celtics plan to add quality players that could help them remain competitive in the Eastern Conference next season.