It has seemed from Danny Ainge’s comments last week and the general front office vibe that the Celtics have been very careful to leave a burning candle on the window sill for Kyrie Irving. But that light may be flickering — if, in fact, it hasn’t already been extinguished.

According to a source with ties to Roc Nation, the organization expected to become Irving’s new representative, the All-Star point guard is prepared to sign with the Brooklyn Nets when he becomes a free agent next month. A separate league source told the Herald that his team (not the Celtics) has received the same information and is operating under the belief that Irving wants to join the Nets.

Word is that the Celtics, meanwhile, had not been given any definitive indication from Irving as of Thursday afternoon.

To be fair to the situation, any story involving Irving needs to contain a disclaimer. While the two sources cited in the second paragraph are to be trusted, most anything involving Irving should be seen as a fluid matter. Nothing can be truly settled until a contract is signed, and that cannot take place until the NBA moratorium ends on July 6 at noon Eastern Time. And, as Celtic followers have come to know, Irving remains eminently capable of changing his mind.

It therefore was clear that Ainge was choosing his words carefully when he spoke with the media on June 5, not wanting to say anything that might damage any chance the Celts might have at keeping Irving.

There may have been some thought among Greenhearts (at least those who want Irving to stay) that Kevin Durant’s ruptured Achilles’ tendon would cause Kyrie to reconsider his desire to team up with Durant and perhaps choose to stay in Boston. But Irving this week severed ties with his long-time agent, Jeff Wechsler, and reports immediately had him moving to Roc Nation, the entertainment and management firm founded by Jay-Z, who once had a small ownership stake in the Nets.

Irving must wait 15 days to sign officially with Roc Nation, a period dictated by the NBA Players Association to discourage the poaching of clients by agents. That still leaves ample time for Irving’s new reps to be prepared for the June 30 opening of free agent negotiations.

At present, the Durant situation appears to be having no bearing on Irving. As reported here last month, a Golden State source said that Irving had definitely spoken to Durant about teaming up once they became free agents. Another source in that story said the problem was that Irving wanted Brooklyn, while Durant was leaning hard to the Knicks.

Now, with the latter likely to miss most if not all of the 2019-20 season, New York and other clubs with interest must consider that not only will Durant be facing what is essentially a redshirt year, but that he will be 32 at the start of the 2020-21 campaign.

There is quite a bit for teams, as well as players who hope to join with other stars to create an instant contender, to consider.

And, as written here in the same May story referenced above, two teams with cap space had backed away from pursuit of Irving as their primary free agent target. Both said that if they were able to land their first choice and that player wanted Irving, they would then go after him. It is important to note that the Nets were neither of those clubs.