Why the Knicks should want All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving
By Kramer Smith
Not far removed are we New York Knicks fans from the summer where we believed the tantalizing duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were scheming a historic team-up in the city that never sleeps. To our surprise, the pair did decide to come to New York but instead opted to land across the river with the Brooklyn Nets.
Both players ironically left the contenders from this past year’s finals (Durant leaving Golden State and Irving leaving Boston), with ambitions of bringing that level of Pollyannaism to a city severely lacking it.
Despite their desires, their tenure in Brooklyn has been anything but the fairy tale hero story the pair hoped for following their decision. Between Durant’s injury problems, Irving’s issues off the court, and a James Harden trade that left them with a glorified mascot in Ben Simmons, the Nets failed to escape the first round of the NBA playoffs in 2021-22.
Now, they face a greater predicament that will severely impact the greater NBA as we approach the start of free agency. Irving may no longer be sold on his future in Brooklyn.
Irving is reportedly at an “impasse” with the franchise and is now expected to reject his player option contract and enter the free agency pool. Considering the Nets just committed long-term to Durant last summer and had to make an unexpected but crucial Harden trade, I would have to imagine Irving has a lot of authority over his position within the franchise at this point.
If Irving did decide to end his relationship with Durant and Brooklyn, two possible landing spots for the star include the Los Angeles Lakers, and you guessed it, the Knicks.
Is Kyrie Irving going to end up on the New York Knicks?
Now, we all know it is officially “Say Knicks for Clicks” season, so we take every report with a huge grain of salt.
Crazier things have happened in this league, though, and for the sake of analysis, I say let’s dive into what Irving joining the Knicks would look like, and why I believe New York should welcome him if this were to happen.
I can surely get behind the fans that believe that the team should absolutely avoid Irving and there are several valid points for this stance. For the purpose of this article, I will take on the role of the Kyrie defender and will try to debunk several of the opposing conjectures many have for the star point guard.