Kyrie Irving just can't seem to stay out of his own way. The silver lining this time is that rather than pushing conspiracy theories under the guise of “free thought,” the Boston Celtics superstar is simply muddying the waters regarding his highly-anticipated foray into free agency this summer.

Before the Celtics easily dispatched of a depleted New York Knicks squad on Friday night, Irving cast doubt on his previous remarks about intentions to re-sign with the Celtics by quipping “I don't owe anybody s***” and “I'm just going to do what's best for me.”

Rather than walking back his comments or even attempting to clarify them after the game, Irving blamed the subsequent media circus on anyone other than himself.

Irving, to be fair, has a point here. While the pithy one-liners above made headlines in the ensuing reporting on his remarks, Irving also told reporters at shootaround Friday morning that Boston is still the frontrunner to re-sign him.

“I just have every intent to sign back,” he said, per Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. “I just wanted to clear that up. A lot of great players have come before me, but to throw my name in Boston Celtics tradition and history is something I’m glad I can do and plan on doing.”

The six-time All-Star went on to say he was answering questions about free agency now so he won't be asked the same ones in the future. But the timing of his comments – less than 24 hours after the Knicks, in the Kristaps Porzingis trade, created enough cap space to sign two max-level salaries come July – made them all the more incendiary, a reality that Irving, despite his protestations, almost certainly understands.