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"Ask me on July 1," Kyrie Irving said on Friday when asked if he has gone back on his preseason decision to plan to sign with the Boston Celtics -- a line that set the internet on fire and sparked a series of headlines about how Irving was destined to end up anywhere besides Boston.

But Irving said a lot of other things as well, which warrant a full examination, along with the Celtics' entire situation as we hurtle toward the trade deadline. Here's an attempt to pinpoint where everything stands.

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First, the video.

Here's everything Kyrie Irving said in his shootaround media availability, given at Madison Square Garden prior to tonight's game between the Celtics and Knicks.

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1. Irving could have squashed everything today, and he didn’t.

Let’s be clear: It’s not Irving’s job to squash things. He’s entitled to say whatever he wants and do quite literally whatever he wants this summer. He’s an unrestricted free agent, and he can choose whatever destination he desires (and whatever destination he desires will have plenty of annoying reporters there to ask questions he doesn’t feel like answering). In the meantime, he can take questions in whichever direction he feels the need to take them.

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But to be clear about something uncomfortable for the Celtics: Irving could have squashed everything today and he chose not to.

He could have said something like, “My plans haven’t changed,” and then launched into the exact same screed against the media breaking up locker rooms, saying we are responsible for the destruction of locker rooms around the league (more on this in a bit). Imagine the high ground he could have taken with the media in that scenario.

Irving is a unique person, and he often balks at the opportunity to say what others might say. But his comments couldn't have exactly been comforting to any front-office types watching from the Auerbach Center.

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2. The Celtics are still confident they will be able to keep Irving.

The Celtics' decision-makers have been consistent about this for a long time, and the noise out of the organization on Friday was no different.

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Boston continues to be confident about re-signing Kyrie Irving this summer, per sources. But make no mistake: They understand that adding AD may be the only way to guarantee he stays. — Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) February 1, 2019

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The Celtics’ front office has an incredibly high opinion of Irving -- one that has only been boosted by his strong two-way play this season. They would love to keep him, and they certainly believe they are in a good position to do so.

Acquiring Davis might cement that, and while you don't need extra reasons to acquire a top-three player, the added benefit of ensuring you keep one of the league's best point guards might make Boston willing to pony up even more in trade discussions.

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3. Some full Kyrie Irving quotes, with full context.

First: "At the end of the day I’m going to do what I feel is best for my career, and that’s just where it stands. My focus this season is winning a championship with the Boston Celtics. Obviously we had goals coming into this season, and the primary goal is to win a championship. So that’s where my focus is.”

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Second: "I still have confidence in Boston and what they can promise for the future and what we have in terms of our pieces. That’s what excited me a lot about the beginning of the season was the opportunity to come into this season really just doing what we planned on doing, set a goal and go after it and then see what happens at the end of the season. That was the plan before and that’s still the plan now. Obviously Boston is still at the head of that race. That’s just where it stands.”

As someone noted on Twitter, Irving's comments are a Rorschach test: You see what you want to see, and that's probably by design. But it’s worthwhile to see some of the more buzz worthy moments in full context.

Yes, Irving seemed to back away from his preseason commitment. But also yes, he expressed confidence in Boston and said the Celtics are still at the head of the race. Both angles matter.

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3. The Celtics can agree to an AD deal before Irving re-signs.

The Celtics can agree to a deal with the Pelicans as soon as their season comes to a close (they could even work out certain parameters now, if they could guarantee a leak-free regular season/postseason (which they can’t (so they won’t))). Of course, the Celtics would want to know they will get a commitment from Irving before agreeing to send talented young players and valuable picks elsewhere.

The order of events would be a complicated game of Jenga, which would all stem from whether or not the Pelicans keep Davis through the deadline. Boston’s hope would be that the Pelicans don’t remove the Davis block from the tower. If the tower stays intact, and if Irving doesn’t bring it crashing down on his own, the Celtics will be in a solid position to trade for Davis, re-sign Irving and then (presumably) start pushing to re-sign Davis as well.

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4. The Lakers (and Klutch Sports) are making a hefty push.

This tweet came minutes after Irving’s press conference. The timing was not subtle.

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Sources @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium: The Boston Celtics aren't a preferred destination long-term for New Orleans star Anthony Davis, and in Davis’ mind, remain a rental option. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 1, 2019

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The Lakers/Klutch Sports timeline for convincing New Orleans was always relatively clear: Leak that the Lakers are on his preferred list of destinations, then leak that the Lakers are THE preferred destination, then leak that he won’t stay in Boston if the Celtics trade for him. Throwing some fuel on the fire regarding Irving’s future in Boston was a nice touch, attempting to sew doubt with the Pelicans that the Celtics' full offer would be on the table in the summer.

Davis pretty clearly wants to be in Los Angeles. What will really put the Celtics’ front office to the test is whether they believe Davis when he says he would bolt after a year in the event of a trade elsewhere.

If Ainge believes trading for Davis will help him secure a commitment from Irving, he probably won’t be dissuaded by posturing.

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5. Irving wants to make sure he gets a max contract.

Part of the reason Irving may be questioning his commitment: He might want to ensure the Celtics offer the full five-year, $190(ish) million deal he could get from them in free agency. Negotiating from a place of strength is difficult to do when you’ve already determined where you are going to go, so it’s possible Irving wants to signal he is still interested in playing for the Celtics as long as they offer all the money he's due.

That would be an easy distinction to leak, if he wanted to shut down the rumors, but Irving is his own man.

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6. The Celtics are still in a great position to keep Irving.

Take a giant step back from Twitter. (No seriously, close the tab. Now quit your Tweetdeck. Put your phone away. No, away away. I see you holding it behind your back. There.)

If you really break down the Celtics’ position in all of this, Friday probably felt more bleak to Celtics fans than it actually was. For starters, they currently employ Irving, and they have several months to put together a solid playoff run with the pieces already in place. Getting to the NBA Finals would help. Seeing development from the young players (and also Gordon Hayward) would help. Irving says he still has confidence in Boston, and the last few weeks have given him reason to believe.

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Is there noise? Is there reason for concern, and are there questions to be asked? Certainly, and of course, and you can bet the Celtics have asked the questions and felt the concern. But the Celtics’ front office takes a measured approach to everything, and their best play (barring something we don’t know) is continuing forward with Irving and trying to put a team around him that gives him reason to commit to five more years with the team.

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7. Irving’s comments about locker-room destruction have some merit.

Do I agree with Irving that the assembled media at Friday’s shootaround are breaking up the locker room in Boston? No, of course not. That media was mostly beat writers and local New York columnists just trying to do their jobs.

But do the constant rumors swirling around the team make it difficult for the players to do their jobs? That’s much more believable, and a very fair concern on Irving’s end.

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“It’s crazy how stories and things and story lines can seep into a locker room,” Irving said. “You guys are part of the destruction of locker rooms. That’s just what it is.

“This is an entertainment industry. I don’t live for this entertainment. I don’t live for this talking to everybody every single day about my life and my decisions. I would just hope that everybody would respect that. That’s really basically it.”

Imagine being Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown and having to go about your job after constantly hearing that your boss might trade you at any time. More to the point, imagine being Irving and trying to lead a group of players who are uncertain about their future next season. That can’t be easy.

None of this is actually going to make a difference. At this point, NBA rumors are a runaway industry, and they have nearly equaled the actual games in terms of interest. But Irving’s complaints aren’t unfair.