Ainge: Irving may need knee surgery at some point
While there's no sense of urgency, Boston Celtics president and general manager Danny Ainge believes franchise star Kyrie Irving will likely need to go under the knife at some point over the next couple of years.
"He has some surgery that may need to happen," Ainge said Thursday on 98.5 The Sports Hub's "The Toucher and Rich Show," according to USA Today's AJ Neuharth-Keusch. "But maybe not this summer, maybe the following summer, or maybe the summer after that. I think that he could probably do it any time he wanted, but I'm not sure that it's needed at this moment."
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Irving is sidelined with left knee soreness which recently flared up again, forcing him from Sunday's meeting with the Indiana Pacers. The now-25-year-old was knocked out of the 2015 NBA Finals with a fractured kneecap, resulting in season-ending surgery.
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Boston was well aware of Irving's knee problems before acquiring him in a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was a red flag that could turn into a major problem down the road, which is why Ainge said there was "a lot of discussion" weighing the pros and cons of the deal.
"That was a big part of it going forward," mentioned Ainge. "Kyrie had the injury, I don't know, two-and-a-half years ago now, three years ago. So we knew that there would be maintenance issues. But his long-term prognostication is good. He's going to have some maintenance issues here and there. We knew coming into this year that he probably wasn't going to be an 82-game guy. He was going to be a 72-, 75-game guy in order to keep him fresh for the playoffs, and that's what it's been.
"We're just extra cautious. We have the good fortune of being extra cautious right now. We want him fresh and healthy and we think that he will be come playoff time."
Suffice it to say, Irving has more than delivered in his first year with Boston. He's averaging a career-high 24.4 points on 49.1 percent shooting for the 46-22 Celtics. The team also has the NBA's top defense - an area in which Irving has been chastised for being second-rate for years.