Maxwell: No Need For Panic On Kyrie Irving's Future With Celtics
BOSTON (CBS) -- Normally, the NBA world goes a bit overboard with speculation and gossiping about players who are actively free agents. But this summer, everybody's gotten a head start with Kyrie Irving.
Though the 26-year-old point guard for the Celtics is still a year away from being able to opt out of his contract and hit the open market, speculation about his future has run rampant. From playing with Jimmy Butler somewhere, to revitalizing the Knicks, the rumors have already begun about what the summer of 2019 might bring for Irving.
Naturally, this chatter has some Celtics fans a bit worried. But C's radio analyst Cedric Maxwell told Dan Roche on "Sports Final" that there's no need for anybody to hit the panic button just yet.
"I think right now a lot of people are panicking about that, 'Oh my God, he's not committing.' If you are a good businessperson, you don't panic right now. You don't commit," Maxwell said. "Because when you look at him, when you talk about Kyrie Irving, he has the cards in his hands right now. He's still one of the best point guards in the NBA. He's your leader on this team. You want him back. But he wants to look and see what's out there, and you don't blame him for doing that."
As Irving already made clear this summer, it would be disadvantageous for him to sign a contract extension with Boston right now. Doing so would cost him tens of millions of dollars. So the Celtics for the time being can't do much except provide a winning environment for Irving and show that they're committed to the future, until the two sides can talk in earnest next year.
"The Celtics right now want him back. I think everybody wants to see him back," Maxwell said. "Again he's going to be playing well. This is again a time when a player has the advantage, and he's just taking advantage of what's there."
Maxwell also discussed the not-so-great first impressions made by C's draft pick Robert Williams, and discussed how much talent the Celtics will have beyond the starting five. Watch in the video above!