Kyrie plans to re-sign with Celtics next summer

Any drama surrounding the future of Kyrie Irving has seemingly been squashed.

Standing in front of season ticket holders at the TD Garden on Thursday, the 26-year-old point guard proclaimed that he plans on re-signing with the Boston Celtics.

Irving has also reportedly met with Celtics ownership over the past several weeks and informed the organization that he's committed long-term, sources told the Athletic's Shams Charania.

He'll presumably opt out of his contract following the 2018-19 campaign in order to land a wealthier max contract in free agency. Had Irving signed an extension ahead of time, he would have left over $80 million on the table in potential earnings on a new deal.

The five-time All-Star and former NBA champion had recently hinted that he was leaning heavily towards remaining with Boston. He spoke glowingly about the team's future in an interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols in September.

"Even if I ever try to think about that thought of going elsewhere, it would be like 'what are you thinking? We're pretty f-ing good here,'" Irving said.

The New York Knicks reportedly have Irving as their No. 1 target, with the star point guard having grown up 20 miles from the Manhattan area in West Orange, N.J. There were even rumors that Irving and Jimmy Butler had discussed joining forces in the Big Apple, although Irving put those to rest by denying any conversations on the matter had ever taken place.

Irving is entering his eighth season in the Association and second in Boston. He sat the last 15 games of the 2017-18 campaign and missed the Celtics' entire playoff run after going under the knife on two occasions. Irving's first procedure was done to remove a tension wire from a past surgery, and his second was to remove two screws from his left patella.

He averaged 24.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.1 steals on 49.1 percent shooting across 60 appearances for the 55-win Celtics.