We see it quite often in modern-day sports: The big star athlete makes a move from one organization and city, to another organization and city. At first, the athlete is happy with the change, but sometimes, they ultimately end up regretting it. For Kyrie Irving, it seems to be that regret has been there from day one of his tenure with the Boston Celtics. Things are so bad right now between Irving and the Celtics, that even Las Vegas has the New York Knicks (+200) as his landing spot for the 2019-20 campaign.
The rest of the teams on the list after the Knicks’ +200 are:
Here’s the reason why the New York City teams of the Knicks and Nets are the favorites: Not only did Irving grow up in New Jersey, but he’s also said on the record multiple times that he thinks it would be cool to play for an NYC team. Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves, those factors alone aren’t enough to drive Irving to those teams, especially after the struggle with the Celtics — a team with a load of young talent. But there are other factors that could bring “Uncle Drew” to the Tri-State area.
They are sitting pretty with their salary cap space and draft status at the moment, and if things work out for them, they could automatically be in the NBA Finals next season — with Kyrie Irving. When you look at the Knicks’ cap space, you see that they have two spots open for max salary guys that they could use that to rack up this free agency. Not just that, but they could land Zion Williamson if they grab the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.
We’ve already heard the rumors about Kevin Durant going to New York City. If that happens and they get Williamson in the draft, Kyrie isn’t passing up that opportunity. He’s as good as gone and will become a New York Knick. As you see, the Knicks are the favorites, and this scenario could realistically happen — and with solid talent such as Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson to take care of the rest of the starting lineup. Oh man, the chills.
I understand the Brooklyn Nets are high in the odds, but I would pass on that bet, especially after the disaster that Irving had with the Celtics. Brooklyn has a young core of D’Angelo Russell, Caris LeVert and Spender Dinwiddie, and out of fear due to this season with Boston, I don’t see the Nets making a chase for him. I also see Kyrie Irving wanting to be with elite superstar talent as well, not anymore young talent like with the Celtics (and the Nets). After spending years to develop this team, I see Brooklyn spending their money on somebody who can help them on the wing, not risk it on someone who could decline the development that’s been done. With that being said, I think the Nets at +300 is just too high.
The main reason why the oddsmakers are so certain that Kyrie Irving will leave Boston is because of his (load of) comments in the media, especially the ones about whether or not he would re-sign with the Celtics. Things got awkward, to say the least.
Another reason is that the feelings might be mutual from each of the Celtics, the fan base and the Boston media, especially after Irving shot less than 35% from the field in four straight games in the NBA Playoffs. It gets worse too. Remember last season?
Without both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, the Celtics were just one quarter away from advancing to the NBA Finals in 2018. With a massive decline with Irving on the roster, I wouldn’t be shocked to see General Manager Danny Ainge not even make an offer to Kyrie to re-sign. Things have gotten that bad, and with the Eastern Conference only getting more competitive post-LeBron James, Ainge, and the Celtics know that changes are needed. The last factor: Marcus Smart is already on board long term with Boston, and Terry Rozier is ready to take the place of Irving in the starting lineup. Go ahead and take it to the bank, folks: Kyrie is gone.
If it were up to me, I would have this team second in the odds behind the New York Knicks, and it would be with his old buddy and pal LeBron James: Los Angeles Lakers.
If you don’t recall, LeBron and Kyrie have made up after their fallout in Cleveland, with Irving even calling James apologizing to him about the situation that happened between the two during their time with the Cavaliers. And it gets even deeper: According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Irving has “had discussions with people about playing for the Lakers” ahead of the free agency period on July 1. With that being said, the Lakers need to be shot up in the odds. Expect Los Angeles to be aggressive too. Not only do they need to take advantage of an aging LeBron James, but they have done dismal for years now with free agents, and how could we forget the Anthony Davis fiasco back during the trade deadline? Expect Los Angeles to go full force for Kyrie Irving — LeBron is already getting flashbacks to the 2016 NBA Finals.
Speaking of Los Angeles, that’s the only reason why the Clippers are making an appearance on the list: They’re in Los Angeles. Who wouldn’t be tempted to go to that city to play and live? (I just wouldn’t want to pay the California taxes, they’re way too high. And we’ve already seen that play a factor with professional athletes recently. Could it play a factor with Irving? Especially with the Lakers. Time will tell.) But back to the Clippers: Not only do I see Kyrie not having any interest in playing with them, but the Clippers also have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lou Williams on the court, a duo they love. Like the Nets, I don’t think the Clippers would want to take the risk on messing that up. With that being said, however, the Clippers do have two max salary cap spots, so maybe they could make a push with no other options available to them. I just don’t see Kyrie Irving wanting to go there, especially if he’s focused on his legacy, which he is. Meaning he needs a power brand.
Stay cool, ladies and gentlemen. It’s going to be a hot summer.
The Knicks are the favorites according to Vegas, and that’s exactly where I have him going (for now). I’ve already mentioned the factors, but he’s a kid born and raised in New Jersey, and it’s a dream of his to play for either the Knicks or the Brooklyn Nets. For the Knicks’ case, that can actually happen. If things go their way in the NBA Draft Lottery, they’ll land Zion Williamson. Then when July 1 arrives, they’ll have heavy chances to sign superstar Kevin Durant (who wants to cement his legacy, he can do that in NYC.) That opens up the flood gates for Kyrie Irving.
They have the cap space to pull it off, but I don’t see the Nets wanting to take the risk on Kyrie Irving after the massive chemistry problems that he caused for the Boston Celtics. The Nets have a core of young talent that got them into the playoffs, and even saw them steal a game from the Philadelphia 76ers — one of the Eastern Conference’s elite teams. Yeah, the Nets are going to take that risk. And with what the Knicks can offer, I think Kyrie has his eyes on that franchise and the Garden anyway. Don’t bet on the Brooklyn Nets and their +300 odds.
It’s incredibly obvious and it has been for a while: Irving isn’t happy with the Boston Celtics. And after this experience, he also knows how hard it is to win leading your “own team”. This is why he reached out to LeBron James apologizing for leaving his side in Cleveland opening the door for himself to re-join LeBron — this is why we now hear these Lakers rumors, among other rumors. The rumors are so frequent now and the lack of chemistry, unity, and happiness is there, that it’s 99.9% positive that Kyrie Irving is on his way out. He’s just not happy in Boston.
The Los Angeles Lakers should be second in the odds and extraordinarily close to the New York Knicks, and that’s because of the latest developments between Kyrie Irving and the Lakers. Those latest developments: “Discussions” that he’s had about playing with the organization. After a brief “feud” (if you can call it that) between the two, they would eventually make up after Irving apologized. He would also go on to admit that it’s hard to lead your own team. So the thought of being LeBron’s ‘Robin’ again is certainly on the mind of Kyrie Irving.
Okay, there’s two reasons why the Los Angeles Clippers with Kyrie Irving thing isn’t going to work, and there’s one reason why the Clippers are even on the list. First off, why it’s not happening: 1. Kyrie Irving has already proven himself to be a “legacy guy,” the only way that he can get where he wants is if he plays for a power brand. (Knicks, Lakers, etc.) 2. The Clippers won’t have massive interest after what happened in Boston — why mess up their young core? Why the Clippers are even being talked about: Well, they’re in Los Angeles. That’s really it.
If the Mavericks make a few moves, they can create cap space for two max free agents, but it’s a lot of work, and with Dallas not known for getting superstar free agents, I don’t see Mark Cuban taking the risk. But they will have cap space for one max player, along with Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. I see the Mavs sticking with that route, trying to get a power player to go along with those two. With that being said, I can see Dallas going after Irving aggressively. But I just don’t think Kyrie will want to go there because of those “legacy” reasons. He needs a power brand.
The salary cap space all depends on whether or not Kawhi Leonard stays. If he does, then Marc Gasol will most likely stay. If Leonard doesn’t stay, then Gasol will most likely leave as well to play for a championship contender. If those two leave, then the Raptors will have space for two max players to put with Kyle Lowry — obviously being forced to create a new core. The problem is, who is going to be appealed by the new look Toronto Raptors without Leonard and Gasol? And who will want to live and play in that city when it’s absolutely freezing in winter?
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