I’m sure there are a lot of people out there that are pretty tired of Kyrie talking about his trade, transition and current satisfaction with the Celtics and his career. I get it, it’s becoming redundant at this point. However, there is something to be said about listening to Kyrie. He’s very insightful, philosophical and, especially in the last few months, is anti-controversy.
Whether or not you’re tired of hearing about the storylines surrounding him opposed to his play on the court, there’s a comfort in knowing he’s never going to sound stupid or say something that can hurt the team.
For me, I love when Kyrie does these sit downs. Can’t get enough of this guy.
Full one-on-one w/ Kyrie Irving: On challenging himself, embracing being a face of Celtics, at times “very lonely” leadership, parting with the Cavaliers, his future and more — “It almost scares me in terms of the potential of me at the start of my prime.” pic.twitter.com/ouoRmakywZ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 8, 2018
NBA Insider Shams sat down with Kyrie this time. If you have the 8 and a half minutes, give the whole thing a listen, Shams is great at his job and Kyrie is one of the more interesting people to listen to in sports.
For those who don’t have the time, here are some of the highlights.
1:45: “You have to set yourself up in a reality that you want…You have to realize certain habits that you learn being in different environments that probably won’t get you any further than you want to be…I can help others by helping myself.” -Kyrie Irving
Kyrie talks about the idea of him being a leader and the face of a franchise. He mention what he’s learned and also how he’s still go bad habits and things to work on. Something that gets lost with Kyrie because of his experience is his age. Sure he has some wear and tear and injuries under his belt, but at 26, he’s still a face of the NBA for some 10 to 15 more years. If he’s that type of state of mind, where all he wants to do is improve, then the Celtics are set up with capable leaders for a long time between Kyrie, Stevens and guys like Smart, Brown and Tatum in the coming years.
4:04: “I knew that there was a part of my career that I envisioned myself being in and I know that that challenge was not going to come being where I was.” -Kyrie Irving
Anyone who’s ever watched LeBron and seen what happens to teams when he’s done with them you’ll know it’s often like an ex spiraling after a breakup. It’s ugly and hard to watch. It happened to Cleveland the first time he left, it’s happening to them now and the Heat haven’t been the same since, despite being fairly competitive at times. I get that LeBron being so good is the reasoning for that, but no one wants to play second fiddle with him or have to be his successor as a leader. Expectations are too high and unreasonable. So Kyrie got out of dodge and I couldn’t be happier he fled to Boston.
It seems that neither can he.
6:28: “At the end of the day I started honing in on what meant the most to me, and that was having a future here in Boston” -Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving, Phd in philosophy, seems very zen with his current status. That is a sign of great things to come. If he has the comfort, time and health to really polish his already great game then the rest of the East is guaranteed to be chasing the Celtics for years to come.
Now they just need to get back on the saddle on the court and start building some serious chemistry capable of giving the Warriors a series. Right now, they’re far from that form.
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Feature Image via @ShamsCharania Twitter