Kyrie is a max player and I doubt the Celtics would fool around with trying to negotiate with him about that.
But...
Is Kyrie the type of guy who might pull a Durant and take a little less money to help the team? Kyrie is a pretty weird guy, he likes to think for himself. Maybe he decides that the best thing for his brand is to play deep into the playoffs and be on the highest rated national TV games every year and the best way to do that is leave some money on the table for better teammates. He's got one of the best selling shoes, he's got a movie coming out this summer. Does he make enough money elsewhere and does he see what's going on in Golden State and decide he should do that?
I don't expect this to happen but what are the odds?
I think about that argument a lot - like, these guys make a lot of money outside the game, so maybe taking a paycut from the league would allow them to boost the brand and still get paid.
The problem is the principle of it, in my opinion. Less so with the Celtics who have great owners and management, but it's still there: We ask players to take pay cuts and get angry when they demand the max, but the owners are billionaires.
Secondly, if Kyrie get injured, there goes his money. For any player, the risk of injury is enough to try to guarantee a big contract.
With that said... I still think IT's "Brinks truck" comment was idiotic