Irving Wants To Re-Sign With Celtics, 5-Year $189M Deal Predicted In 2019

The Boston Celtics can now approach the 2018-19 NBA season with calm confidence after one of the biggest questions of the summer was answered on Thursday night by star point guard Kyrie Irving.

The question of whether Irving will stay with the Celtics long-term or leave next summer was a constant topic of discussion and it was expected to drag on well into the new season. But the 2016 NBA champion ended the speculation Thursday by confirming that he plans to re-sign with the Boston franchise once he enters free agency next summer.

Irving is entering the final year of his five-year deal that he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers before asking for a trade in 2017. He does have an option for the 2019-20 season but is expected to decline it and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

It was being reported that the New York Knicks are plotting a move for the point guard and had made him their top target during free agency in 2019. And the speculation started after Irving turned down a chance to sign a new deal with the Celtics this summer, which is said to be due to the financial implications and not because he was looking to move.

The Knicks will now have to look elsewhere as Irving, during a Q&A session with the Celtics season ticket holders Thursday, committed his long-term future to the franchise which was followed by a loud roar from the fans in attendance.

"I've shared it with some of my teammates as well as the organization as well as everyone else in Boston. If you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here next year," Irving told a packed TD Garden on Thursday.

Despite his public declaration coming as a surprise, it is not the first time this week that he has waxed lyrical about playing for the Celtics or being in Boston. He praised the city and his team in the days building up to him committing his future to the franchise.

And if supporters were concerned that his commitment was made only to appease the home fans, it was later confirmed by The Athletic’s Shams Charania he has made the same verbal commitment to the ownership about his intentions to stay with Boston in the long-term.

“As Boston star Kyrie Irving says at Celtics fan event that he plans to re-sign with the team next summer, Irving has also communicated with Boston ownership over past several weeks and verbally committed plans to stay long-term,” Charania wrote quoting sources, via his official Twitter account.

It is expected, according to NBCS Boston’s Chris Forsberg, he will commit his long-term future by signing a new five-year deal worth $189 million in 2019. That is $80 million more than he would have received if he signed a new deal this summer.