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Danny Ainge Wouldn’t Be Unhappy If Kyrie Irving Left

Last year’s Boston Celtics had been one of the biggest success stories of the 2017-18 NBA season.

A young team that lost both their All Stars, Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving ,who both underwent season-ending surgeries, made the Conference Finals nontheless. Boston’s young core (Tatum, Brown, Rozier) played brilliantly and made the fans almost forget about Irving and Hayward.

This season, with the two stars healthy and playing again, everyone expected the Celtics to be the East’s top dog and a contender. But in reality, the team was struggling all year long. Their underwhelming season came to an early end, after they lost Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semis against the Bucks and therefore the series with 4 games to 1.

The Celtics were awful and it seems like the front office will be having a busy summer. The team’s star player, Kyrie Irving in the mean time, seems to have played his last game for the franchise, and Danny Ainge, the Celtics’ president of basketball operations, won’t be unhappy if he left. That’s what ESPN’s Jeff Goodman said during a recent appearance on Colin Cowherd’s podcast:

“I’d be surprised if he stays in Boston,” Goodman said. “You see his body language. You hear enough smoke, you know something’s going on here. Obviously, Kyrie’s kinda moody, he’s got a tight inner circle. So, I’m not sure how much validity some of (the rumors have), but again, I don’t expect him to be in Boston. “You could see it in the locker room and with his teammates, that they almost don’t know how to take to Kyrie Irving. I’ve known him a long time and, honestly, he’s become tough to like. … I’m not sure how many people in Boston — including Danny Ainge — would be that unhappy if Kyrie Irving leaves.”