Kyrie Irving doesn’t have to worry about free agency until next summer Authentic Marquez Valdes-Scantling Jersey , though he’s got plenty to keep him busy for now.

There’s a movie to promote and a knee to mend. He hopes he’s good on screen, but wants to be better than ever on the court.

”Now becomes the real climb to Mount Everest, back to the top,” Irving said Monday. ”So I’m just taking my time.”

The Boston Celtics All-Star is hoping he can start playing again in a couple weeks. But he’s staying patient in his rehab from late-season surgery because of an infection in his knee, figuring the extra time can only help after he played deep into June the previous two years with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He was traded to the Celtics last summer while filming ”Uncle Drew.” The movie, in which he plays an old playground basketball legend who started as a character in Pepsi commercials, premieres in New York on Tuesday and opens nationwide Friday.

The Cavaliers gave Irving’s former jersey number to Collin Sexton, drafted last week with the No. 8 pick that Cleveland acquired from Boston in the trade. But Irving wasn’t upset, saying he already gave away the only Cavs’ No. 2 that matters to him – the one he wore while hitting the biggest shot in the franchise’s history.

That was on Father’s Day in 2016, the night Irving nailed the 3-pointer that helped the Cavaliers beat the Warriors in Game 7 of the NBA Finals for the franchise’s first championship.

”The history, it’s already captured, man,” Irving said. ”I was on one of the best teams in NBA history in my opinion Pat Valaika Colorado Rockies Jersey , just accomplishing something that was that much bigger than ourselves. A feat that was, we’re one of no other teams. We’re like 1 of 1, in history. So for me, I think the biggest thing was giving that jersey to my dad, and if that’s where the No. 2 legacy ends, then cool.”

Though Irving asked to be traded – a request LeBron James hoped the Cavs wouldn’t honor – he looks back fondly on his time in what’s now Sexton’s number.

”I gave a lot of commitment and sacrifice to being there from Day 1, so to have that six-year span of doing some unbelievable things, I’m definitely happy about it,” he said. ”I never shy away from that in terms of Cleveland giving me the opportunity to a 19-year-old kid of wearing No. 2. Now, it’s just a transition in the league.

”There’s no hard feelings from my end. But now he has to start from kind of the chopping block just like everyone else did, so I’m excited for him.”

And he’s excited for ”Uncle Drew,” in which Irving rounds up his old teammates to play in a tournament at New York’s Rucker Park. Shaquille O’Neal, Reggie Miller Cheap Vita Vea Jersey , Chris Webber and Nate Robinson star as his old running mates. They were on set with him when they started getting alerts that Irving had been traded.

”Once it happened, the dancing just got a little better,” Irving said.

Irving needed three hours of makeup daily to look like a senior citizen before the 14 hours a day of filming. He believes his love of basketball shows up through his role of wise old sage who hangs around the courts – though Irving himself hasn’t played on outdoor playgrounds in years.

His game is indoors now, and he plans on being back there this summer before dealing with his own free agency next summer.

”Not just the same way but also a lot better,” Irving said. ”That’s where the focus has to be. If you leave any room for doubt or uncertainly, I mean you might as well get out of the game.”

—

Eric Bieniemy had better learn to ration his booming voice.

It was one thing when the running back-turned-assistant coach could spend an entire 3-hour practice barking at the running backs, a handful of players under his direct supervision. It's quite another now that he's in charge of dozens of players on the Kansas City Chiefs' offense.

But that in-your-face intensity is also a big reason why Bieniemy has quickly risen through the coaching ranks, from running backs coach at his alma mater, Colorado, to offensive coordinator in the NFL.

So don't expect him to turn the volume down anytime soon.

"The biggest thing Coach Bieniemy will bring to our offense is his intensity," said Chiefs running back Spencer Ware, who has worked closely under him the past couple seasons. "If you look at his resume and the players he's coached and the way they play football, each and every play they get out there on the field 鈥?having an entire offense with that same mentality is pretty exciting."

Pretty intimidating Jim Thome Jersey , too.

Bieniemy carries a presence on the practice field that looms much larger than his stout frame. When he speaks, people listen 鈥?mostly because the volume is so high.

Quite frankly, it's hard to ignore.

"I just joked with him out here, he's having to walk around now. He isn't coaching just one position," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. "He has to grind on everybody. That takes a little bit of getting used to. He did a nice job of figure all that during minicamps and that."

Reid has always thought highly of Bieniemy, who joined his initial staff as the running backs coach in Kansas City. But the fact that he elevated Bieniemy to offensive coordinator after watching Matt Nagy take over the head job in Chicago speaks volumes about Reid's belief in his assistant's ability.

Never before has he had an offensive coordinator who played anything but quarterback.

There was Rod Dowhower in the early years in Philadelphia, and Brad Childress and Marty Mornhinweg had backgrounds with the most mentally demanding position on the field. Doug Pederson became Reid's first offensive coordinator in Kansas City before taking the Eagles' top job and parlaying some of what he learned during his time with the Chiefs into a Super Bowl title this past season.

It makes sense, too. The quarterback is the only player on offense who must know everybody's job on every play. That's why so many of them successfully transition to coaching.

Bieniemy has shown a similar aptitude, though. The Chiefs have always used their running backs in the passing game, so he's had a hand in that part of the scheme, and his success in helping Kareem Hunt go from unheralded and overlooked draft pick to NFL rushing champion was hard to ignore.

"He brings a certain detail to the offense that I think that we really need," first-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes II said, "and it's something that he stays detailed and he stays on you and he makes sure you're doing the right things Authentic Albert Wilson Jersey , and I feel like it'll help me a ton as this year goes along."

Over time, Pederson and Nagy were given carte blanche with the offense, and there's a good chance Bieniemy will earn that latitude as well. But for now, he'll work hand-in-hand with Reid and quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka in orchestrating what could be one of the league's top offenses.

The Chiefs have surrounded Mahomes with plenty of weapons: Hunt in the backfield, Travis Kelce at tight end, and wide receiver Sammy Watkins joining speedster Tyreek Hill as downfield threats.

In other words, they've also given Bieniemy the tools necessary to succeed.

"This is actually a unique position because I get to touch every position on the offensive side of the ball," he said. "It's a unique situation to be in."

NOTES: The Chiefs released WR Elijah Marks and signed DT Mike Purcell. ... Hunt did individual work but was held out of team drills Friday to rest his hamstring, which bothered him during the summer. ... LB Reggie Ragland (knee), CB Ashton Lampkin (knee) and FS Armani Watts (ankle) did not practice.
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