Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Yep. It feels like August–and not because it’s hot outside:
It feels like August because I’m sitting here trying to come up with a story worth writing about.
And since there’s not much to write about, it’s time to fall back on the old standby: Kyrie “news” and rumors.
First: Did you know Kyrie was in LA yesterday? Yes. It’s true. He went to a shoe store. Can you believe it???
— G (@glabrie) May 23, 2019
And LA fans, who are desperate for quality basketball, this being the worst era of professional basketball in LA since there wasn’t any professional basketball in LA, started a chant for Kyrie.
Of course, that means that Kyrie’s definitely signing in LA. Because, I mean, hey, who doesn’t make major life decisions on the basis of small crowds of strangers?
(Side point: I’ve driven six hours round-trip to go to a bookstore in Omaha, so I guess, given the difference in income brackets, I shouldn’t be shocked at Irving flying cross-country to visit a shoe store.)
But wait! There’s more!
LeBron’s mouthpiece, Brian Windhorst, says that LeBron is definitely going to recruit Kyrie to come to LA.
Windhorst on Kyrie Irving & the Lakers: "I think Kyrie is considering the Lakers… I know he's in touch with LeBron & LeBron's gonna make a run to recruit him." pic.twitter.com/wcUMNhgRGy
— Chris Montano (@gswchris) May 23, 2019
This is, if anything, even more ridiculous than the notion that Kyrie will decide to go to LA because a group of people wouldn’t leave him alone while he was at a shoe store.
LeBron is the calm eye of a perpetual category five hurricane of crap, but even he, though seemingly oblivious to the chaos that surrounds him, is probably aware that he’s not going to win a championship with Lonzo Ball as his PG. Hence he’s going to make a strong push for Irving to join him.
However, if you’re Kyrie Irving, all you have to do is look at the nonstop lunacy of the past season in Lakerland, culminating with Luke Walton’s dismissal and Magic’s surprise resignation, to realize that if you go to LA, it’s basically going to be like going to Cleveland, but with more sunshine.
I’d say that LeBron probably wants Kyrie far more than Kyrie wants LeBron.
For those of you who think that the worst possible scenario involves the Celtics signing Irving, old friend John Karalis has some perspective:
If Kyrie Irving comes back to the Boston Celtics, Terry Rozier will be playing for someone else.
…
“I feel like that, along with the coaches, them treating Gordon and Kyrie — I wouldn’t say different than everybody else, but I feel like they just treat them like they were on that level that there were no adjustments that could be made because they are who they are. And we never figured it out. We never figured it out.”
By now we’re all quite familiar with this quote, but I’d like to highlight an aspect of it that has been strangely overlooked.
Terry Rozier essentially accused the coaching staff of giving Hayward preferential treatment and refusing to ask him to make adjustments.
Gordon Hayward was pulled from the starting lineup FIFTEEN games into the season.
Kyrie Irving is not perfect. But if you’d rather have someone that out-of-touch with reality running point for the Celtics, well…
John adds…
Irving seemed to be happily gliding along through the regular season. After a tough mid-season loss to the Miami Heat, Irving went back out to the floor and went through a shooting routine before going through an upbeat media session.
Two weeks later Anthony Davis requested a trade and suddenly Irving’s name was being thrown into rumors and his demeanor changed. By February 1, he was sitting in the Madison Square Garden ranting about his situation.
“Somebody else is asking for a trade and I’m thrown into that, and uncertainty comes back on me,” he said. “At the end of the day I don’t live in this little hub. Some people call me about this dumb s—, and of course my name (keeps getting) thrown in this.
And this is basically another reason why I think Irving is going to stay as far away from the LeBron circus–and the Knicks circus–as possible. AD’s trade request almost certainly came at the prompting of agent and “Friend-of-LeBron” Rich Paul, who manages to get good deals for his clients only if he can use LeBron as leverage. Shortly thereafter, rumors began swirling that Kyrie Irving wanted to join the Knicks.
And, shortly after that, in a rather uncharacteristically blunt move, normally quiet Celtics sources told Boston media that they believed the “Irving-to-Knicks” rumors were started by Rich Paul, who wants Davis to join up with LeBron in LA. Alternatively, the “Irving-to-Knicks” rumors may have been started by the Knicks themselves in an effort to make New York a more attractive destination for Davis, giving them some leverage in trade talks.
Nobody else stood to gain anything from launching what were completely baseless rumors, and it plainly irked Irving.
Page 2: The old guard says goodbye to one of their own.
A Very somber day today saying a final goodbye to my very dear friend, John Havlicek. I had such a nice time today sharing my memories of him with all seven of his wonderful grandkids. You are missed #RIP John @celtics @NBA pic.twitter.com/uHGQ1WSDTd
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) May 23, 2019
Tommy and Cousy were there, along with Satch Sanders and Russell and Cowens, and a bunch of role-players from those Celtics teams.
Related articles at Boston.com, NBC Sports, MassLive, the Boston Herald
The rest of the links
NBC Sports: Baynes: ‘My heart is still here in Boston’ | Kyrie makes All-NBA second team for first time
MassLive: Boston Celtics draft 2019: Darius Bazley, Shamorie Ponds & 10 intriguing players in the second round | Boston Celtics owner: Danny Ainge back at work, ‘seems very healthy’
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