Ainge unconcerned about Irving's knee being a long-term issue

Boston Celtics president and general manager Danny Ainge was aware of Kyrie Irving's knee issues upon trading for him last summer, but never fretted about him possibly needing surgery.

Now that Irving has undergone a minimally invasive procedure to alleviate irritation in his left knee, Ainge remains optimistic about the long-term outlook of his franchise cornerstone.

"I’m not concerned at all," Ainge said Thursday on 98.5 The Sport's Hub's Toucher & Rich show, according to USA Today's Greg Cassoli. "I’m just saying, like, his knee is very structurally sound. It’s not, like, a long-term thing. There could still be some challenges.

"We tried to do a minimal amount of surgery at this moment and it might require some more. But we don’t know any of that. I’m just guessing. I don’t know. I’ll probably have a much better update on how he’s doing when I return. I’m with the team right now and I’ll see him tomorrow."

Ainge made it clear that the reason why Irving didn't have surgery earlier was because "he wasn't experiencing any discomfort" at the time. The fact his pain persisted over the season, paired with numerous talks with multiple physicians, resulted in the decision being made to have surgery.

“I think over the last year, which, you know, he played 100 games last year including the playoffs, and this year, he had just the same type of soreness periodically, but nothing that would prevent him from playing. So there was no reason to have that discussion," Ainge added.

"The pain wasn’t significantly more than it has been over the last few years, but it was more persistent. Usually a day off and he would be back at it again, but this one lingered longer, so that’s why we decided to go in and do it."

Irving is averaging 24.4 points on 49.1 percent shooting, along with 5.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 32.2 minutes for the 52-23 Celtics, who are three games out of first place in the Eastern Conference.

He's been out of action since March 11, and is expected to return to basketball activities in three-to-six weeks as of March 24.