Kyrie appears to walk back Celtics commitment: 'I don't owe anybody s---'

At a preseason fan event last October, Boston Celtics All-Star Kyrie Irving told attendees, "if you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here." Four months later, the degree of certainty in that statement appears to be waning.

When asked ahead of Friday's game against the New York Knicks whether his mindset has changed, Irving responded “ask me July 1,” according to ESPN's Ian Begley.

“I don’t owe anybody s---,” Irving added, according to the New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy.

Irving is in the fourth season of a five-year, $94.3-million contract, but the 26-year-old is unlikely to exercise his $21.3-million player option for the final season.

Whether or not his commitment to the Celtics has changed, Irving declared that "obviously Boston's still at the head of that race" in terms of re-signing him, according to The Athletic's Jay King. He also called speculation about his future "unwarranted."

The comments come in the wake of two league-shifting developments over the past five days. First, disgruntled New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis asked for a trade but would not consider re-signing if acquired by the Celtics, fearing Irving might not be with the franchise for the long haul, sources told ESPN's Brian Windhorst. Then, the Knicks traded 2018 All-Star Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, opening up the potential to sign multiple free-agent superstars this offseason.

Irving has long been tied to the Knicks organization due to the proximity of his hometown, West Orange, N.J.

For his part, Irving acknowledged Friday that the Knicks' cap sheet is well positioned heading into the offseason, per King.