During a community event on Thursday, Cleveland Cavaliers’ point guard Kyrie Irving was asked by a young fan if he’ll be ditching the team like big time superstar, LeBron James did.
“Are you going to leave us like LeBron left us?”
Irving grabbed the mic and chuckled a bit and said exactly what Cav fans were hoping to hear.
“It’s a great question,” Irving replied. “Um, no, I won’t leave.” The room filled with cheers and applause.
Irving, who is 21-years-old, was drafted No.1 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft and has a team option for the 2014-15 season. He is scheduled to be a restricted free agent with a $9 million qualifying offer for 2015-16, but most likely won’t leave their rookie deal.
The Cavaliers will use their five-year “designated player” extension on him. Should he finish in the All-NBA voting this year and next, or be named an All-Star starter, he’ll be in line for a 30 percent raise under the ‘Derrick Rose’ stipulation.