After winning a ring with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving shocked everyone by forcing a trade and ending up with the Boston Celtics in 2017. Now, the Dallas Mavericks All-Star guard has opened up on his time playing for Beantown back then.
Due to the desire of not playing behind James’ shadow, Irving wanted out of Cleveland after the 2016-17 season. This led the front office to trade him to the Celtics in exchange for a package headlined by point guard Isaiah Thomas. Now with Gordon Hayward and a promising young core beside him, Irving got the leadership role he wanted back then.
However, things didn’t work out in the two seasons he played with the Celtics. Apart from the time he missed because of injuries, Irving allegedly didn’t have the best chemistry with his teammates and rubbed them the wrong way. This led to tensions mounting in the locker room, even though he produced credible numbers of 24.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game.
After his time there, Irving played several seasons for the Brooklyn Nets and is now part of the Mavericks with All-Star Luka Doncic. He is now facing his former team in the NBA Finals in a surprising twist of fate for both parties.
Dallas Mavericks All-Star Kyrie Irving Admitted His Time With The Boston Celtics Was a Failure
Moving past all the controversies in Boston and Brooklyn, Irving has opened up about this time with the latter. In an article written by Tvzi Machlin for The Spun, the one-time NBA champion shared his thoughts on the matter.
“I failed miserably, while also not knowing how to compartmentalize or accept the emotions that come with failure,” Irving said, via The Athletic. “And also being on the successful side, (I) didn’t know how to handle that either,” Machlin wrote.
“Thinking about my time in Boston, I could go down a myriad of things that none of you in here know that I was dealing with, and I don’t think a lot of people would care,” Irving said.
“I think a few people would care and want to hear about it, and I would leave that space open in the future if you ever want to hear about it.”
As it stands, there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to Irving’s time playing for the Celtics. Even if there’s a lot more to say, the All-Star point guard may opt to keep it to prevent more tensions coming forth.
It remains to be seen how he would fare against his former team in the NBA Finals. In any case, Irving has managed to turn the narrative of his career around, even if Dallas potentially loses to Jayson Tatum and company down the line.
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