It appears the Boston Celtics have made jersey No. 11 available for this upcoming 2019-20 season, a number which has belonged to point guard Kyrie Irving for the last two seasons.
Former NBA player Cedric Maxwell said he had a chance to meet first-round pick Grant Williams on a commercial flight from Charlotte to Boston, at which point he found out through a random spurt of conversation that Irving's number had become available:
“He was talking about numbers which were available. He said No. 11 was available,” said Maxwell. “I said ‘No. 11 is available … okay?'”
📹 From Sports Final: Cedric Maxwell met #Celtics first round pick Grant Williams on a flight from Charlotte to Boston and had nothing but good stuff to say about him #WBZ @Grant2Will @STEVEBURTONWBZ pic.twitter.com/FPedvfvFRY
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) June 24, 2019
Williams wore No. 2 at Tennessee, but that number is retired in honor of the late Red Auerbach, who played for the Celtics but had his original jersey number retired after his lifelong dedication to the organization. That is likely where Maxwell and Williams' conversation stemmed from.
The Celtics have known Irving is likely to leave for weeks now, despite the PR stunts to settle the waters and pretend everything is going dandy.
There are reports that Irving even ghosted president Danny Ainge and the organization, not talking to them for weeks. Those reports have been countered by Ainge, likely in a last resort effort to be in Irving's good graces.
It's doubtful that any player will fight to put on No. 11 if Irving leaves, but it would surely make for some petty wars.
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