Kyrie Irving 'Not Interested' in Signing Balls for Celtics Charity Partners
By Kevin Gamgort
With the passing of each day, it appears that more and more stories keep unveiling about the Boston Celtics dysfunction during the 2018-2019 season.
According to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, at the culmination of the regular season, the Celtics set up 100 balls to be signed by every member of the team for charitable partners. Every player on the team signed the balls except for Kyrie Irving, who declined the opportunity:
At the completion of the regular season, the team set up 100 balls in a room for their charitable partners. Everyone signed the balls except Irving. When pressed to do it, say team sources, he was neither aggressive nor confrontational. He merely said, “No, I’m not interested in that.”
The basketballs themselves were green and donned with the Boston Celtics logo. As bizarre of a move as this is, it’s yet another clear indicator that Irving’s time in Boston is up. What’s interesting, is that the ESPN article reports that Irving declined to sign the ball at the end of the regular season. If this is true, this means that Irving ostensibly openly expressed his desire to not be associated with the Celtics prior to the 2019 NBA Playoffs. With Irving’s lackluster play and struggles this postseason, this does not come as a surprise. It seemed like he was already mentally checked out.
In a season filled with drama for Irving, this is just the icing on the cake.