Kyrie Irving is "finally getting acclimated in Boston" and hasn't spoken to Jimmy Butler since 2016.
If you're the Knicks' braintrust -- or their fan base -- neither of these is a piece of good news since the franchise is planning on going hard after the New Jersey native during free agency next summer.
"I've been away from Cleveland officially for a year now, and I'm finally getting acclimated in Boston," Irving told ESPN.com.
Irving did not sign an extension with Boston this summer because he would have left $80 million on the table as compared to re-signing in 2019, ESPN notes.
Part of "getting acclimated" includes taking a course at the Harvard Business School entitled "Crossover Into Business," which matches participants with a pair of Harvard Business School MBA student mentors who will "develop their business acumen and empower them to make better business decisions."
A source close to Irving believes it won't be the only class he takes at Harvard, either. Irving was a one-and-done at Duke, where he played just nine games due to injury.
"He seems to be settled [in Boston]," the source told SNY.tv. "Plus I don't think he is only going to be taking one course at Harvard."
On the court, the Celtics reached the Eastern Conference Finals last spring, and that was without Irving and Gordon Hayward, who are both back healthy for 2018-19. With LeBron James gone to the Western Conference, the Celtics could rule the East for years to come.
"Who wouldn't be a part of this?" Irving told ESPN. "Who wouldn't want to be a part of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum and Al Horford and Gordon Hayward? People keep saying, 'Why won't he commit to Boston?'
"Well, there are financial implications involved.''
Meantime, the Knicks braintrust led by Steve Mills insists it won't dump assets or draft picks and will instead focus on the class of 2019 in free agency that includes Irving, Butler and Kevin Durant.
Some Knicks fans are dreaming of an Irving-Butler combo in 2019 that would join forces with Kristaps Porzingis, Kevin Knox and other young pieces to make the Knicks a regular playoff team.
But Irving told ESPN he and Butler haven't talked about their futures since 2016 when both were with USA Basketball "and the two engaged in a spit-balling session along with Durant and [Boogie] Cousins."
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