The Kyrie Irving era in Boston appears to be coming to an end, and the Boston Celtics will be left to pick up the pieces once it's over.
Their talented, but difficult, star has his name linked to a plethora of free agent destinations. The New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Brooklyn Nets to name a few. While Irving hasn't commented on his free agency status, the writing on the wall for an Irving departure is all-but evident.
It's always best to be a step ahead of the competition, and while the NBA season is still ongoing, the Celtics have to make a swift move to counter the Irving talks. Since Irving is already linked to other teams, should the Celtics continue flirting with the idea of acquiring Anthony Davis?
Absolutely.
Anthony Davis has been transparent that he wants to move on from the New Orleans Pelicans. His entire ordeal of forcing the Pelicans to attempt to trade him to the Los Angeles Lakers midseason caused a paradigm shift for the Lakers' young players on how LeBron James operates: this is a business.
Kyrie Irving has followed the James model: letting his teammates get uncomfortable with his style of leadership. Like James, his passive-aggressiveness has put his teammates on edge. And like James has done in the past, he let his offseason transgressions run wild in the media and did little to quell the rumors.
With Irving presumably on his way out, the Celtics shouldn't let Irving get a leg up here. James and Irving are the type of players who do things in a calculating fashion. They want control, but also want attention and adulation, too.
The Celtics shouldn't cave into either. Hence, why they should ramp up their pursuit of Davis via trade.
The message in the Celtics pursuing Davis is twofold. First, it lets Irving know that the Celtics are willing to move forward with or without him on the roster. And second, since Irving is willing to play the ambiguous game, they can do the same. They can let the Davis rumors fly, but not do anything to quiet the noise. It's how Irving operated all season about his free agency. The Celtics should counter by doing the exact same thing.
The best case scenario for the latter is it will force communication on both sides. As for the former, Irving will see that the world literally doesn't revolve around him. The lack of clarity will make anyone second guess.
A Davis trade would also allow the Celtics to not lose ground in their potential loss of Irving talent wise. Davis, a 6-foot-11 stretch forward, arguably could be seen as an upgrade, as he has the potential to impact both ends of the floor, something Irving didn't do. Thus, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens' offensive system would center around a talented stretch four instead of a gifted point guard who chooses to freelance.
The intention of this trade pursuit is to really show Irving that as a franchise they are willing to move on from a talented star. If he chooses to stay, then the Celtics have two stars on their roster with a chance to contend. If not, then they can build around one superstar with talented role players. Kawhi Leonard is turning the NBA on its head by dominating the star-laden Golden State Warriors. The Celtics have a chance to do the same with Davis.
So Celtics, pursue Davis. A player in the superstar realm like Irving doesn't need any prodding or chasing. In reality, like a very attractive woman or man in the dating world, being chased is what they want. And they use ambiguity to get the reactions they want, too. Go one step ahead and move on while the relationship is slowly sinking. It forces them (Irving) to react. And the results will play out in your favor.
Aggressive wins in sports. The Celtics should use this time to show the NBA world that they are truly all about winning by pursuing Davis.
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