The Kyrie thread - he probably doesnt bleed green

[Bad-Thoma]

just because a guy is the team's best player doesn't mean he has to be the leader. kyrie is obviously pretty uncomfortable being a leader, with all the media attention and all that. so let smart be the leader, he's our emotional leader anyways.

kyrie is the best player we've had here in a while. everyone talks about how we need more superstars, then we get one and he throws a hissy fit and pouts for a few games and you want to run him out of town. all because he doesn't profess undying love for boston and everything in it. seriously, get a grip. if you are expecting every superstar to be KG in terms of leadership you are dreaming.

fortunately ainge is obviously sensible enough to know that the plucky underdog role only goes so far. this is the boston celtics, we expect championships. that doesn't happen if you don't have guys like kyrie, actually 2 or 3 of them.

[MagicBagley18]

I feel the need to post that KD turns 31 in September. He has a few years of elite left for sure, but we wouldn't be dynastic.

3 years left of being a top 5 player easy IMO, with Tatum at 24 when KD starts to fall off. Smooth transition

[thelarrybirdx]

I feel the need to post that KD turns 31 in September. He has a few years of elite left for sure, but we wouldn't be dynastic.

3 years left of being a top 5 player easy IMO, with Tatum at 24 when KD starts to fall off. Smooth transition

This age thing is so overblown now. Durant EASILY has 5-6 years left of being a top-5 player. It's not like he's carrying a lot of weight that will damage his body. This isn't 2000. Technology advancements have made it much easier to prolong your career.

[DoubleHappiness]

I feel the need to post that KD turns 31 in September. He has a few years of elite left for sure, but we wouldn't be dynastic.

3 years left of being a top 5 player easy IMO, with Tatum at 24 when KD starts to fall off. Smooth transition

This age thing is so overblown now. Durant EASILY has 5-6 years left of being a top-5 player. It's not like he's carrying a lot of weight that will damage his body. This isn't 2000. Technology advancements have made it much easier to prolong your career.

I'll give him 2 for sure, most likely 3. I think he'll still be really good but no way he's still top 5 in 5 years.

[ConstableGeneva]

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[ParticleMan]

it's a lot easier to manage egos and emotions than it is to acquire guys with kyrie's talent. brad hasn't really faced this before, and he hasn't done great at managing this. don't discount the behind-the-scenes work done by ainge here. danny understands these things a lot better than most, having lived through the bird/mchale ego battles.

my feeling is that kyrie genuinely wants to be great, he wants to be a leader, he wants all this but he still lack maturity in some ways. he is honestly trying to work through it, but it doesn't come naturally and it hasn't been easy for him.

i don't think this is the last flare-up we will see of this kind from this team. there will still be some ups and downs, especially when we lose a close game or two. let's just hope kyrie and the team have matured by going through this season, and they can band together in the playoffs and keep supporting each other no matter what. we will get there, it's just a matter of time.

[akhan786]

At the end of the day, I have faith in Kyrie no matter who we match up against in the East (I’d prefer avoiding Kawhi tho until the ECF).

I’ve been preaching all year that Kyrie only really shows all his tricks in the playoffs and the lead up to it. I don’t know if he does this because of 1)Lebron, 2) because of the curse of the truly gifted (needs to be stimulated because he’s a prodigy), or 3) because he’s cautious cause of his injury history.

Or a combination of all 3. But some of y’all are impatient or just have not followed Kyrie at all during his career.

If he’s healthy, we’re about to see a show. But that’s the big caveat with Kyrie. If he’s healthy....

[akhan786]

just because a guy is the team's best player doesn't mean he has to be the leader. kyrie is obviously pretty uncomfortable being a leader, with all the media attention and all that. so let smart be the leader, he's our emotional leader anyways.

kyrie is the best player we've had here in a while. everyone talks about how we need more superstars, then we get one and he throws a hissy fit and pouts for a few games and you want to run him out of town. all because he doesn't profess undying love for boston and everything in it. seriously, get a grip. if you are expecting every superstar to be KG in terms of leadership you are dreaming.

fortunately ainge is obviously sensible enough to know that the plucky underdog role only goes so far. this is the boston celtics, we expect championships. that doesn't happen if you don't have guys like kyrie, actually 2 or 3 of them.

I’m so glad we have Danny in charge instead of some of the day-by-day reactionary idiots on the internet.

[CeltsFlow]

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We'll probably never understand how this guy's mind works, but good to see him owning his past actions. Keep balling out and things will work out in the end!

[UNCBlue012]

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We'll probably never understand how this guy's mind works, but good to see him owning his past actions. Keep balling out and things will work out in the end!

THAT'S MY QUARTERBACK (PG!)!

[ZeroTolerance]

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We'll probably never understand how this guy's mind works, but good to see him owning his past actions. Keep balling out and things will work out in the end!

Hoping this is genuine on Kyrie's part...I want to like this guy... I really do...But it has been tough sledding of late...I still wish he would make his intentions known...at least to the rest of his teammates. At least then they can better plan their own paths....Perhaps there was some reassurances made during that cross country flight?

[cloverleaf]

Hard to imagine, with this report, that Simmons wasn't right and an apology from Kyrie to his teammates isn't what happened on that flight.

Still, he can't help himself, as it was after that flight out that he talked about having to "school the young'ns". I'd want to slap him if were one of his teammates--but of course I'd hold it in to try to save the season.

[Edug27]

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We'll probably never understand how this guy's mind works, but good to see him owning his past actions. Keep balling out and things will work out in the end!

Hoping this is genuine on Kyrie's part...I want to like this guy... I really do...But it has been tough sledding of late...I still wish he would make his intentions known...at least to the rest of his teammates. At least then they can better plan their own paths....Perhaps there was some reassurances made during that cross country flight?

You’re assuming he knows his intentions right now.

[canman1971]

Of course, many will just distort or twist this into their narrative. For whatever reason, people just want misery and conflict.

[Fencer reregistered]

Kyrie's interview fits with what I've been thinking and saying about him -- he's a young man obligated to share his thoughts, feelings and intentions with the public, even as those thoughts/feelings/intentions are understandably undergoing rapid change. In particular, he's trying to learn how to communicate and lead better.

He's a work in process as a man.

[cloverleaf]

More from Pierce on Kyrie:

https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/03/11/bulpett-paul-pierce-thinks-key-to-celtics-is-kyrie-irving-on-and-off-the-court/

Except of course Pierce never grew into successfully being "the man". That was KG who joined the team, was "the man", and successfully changed the team culture.

My guess is that's what it will take for Kyrie too.

[Fencer reregistered]

Kyrie's interview fits with what I've been thinking and saying about him -- he's a young man obligated to share his thoughts, feelings and intentions with the public, even as those thoughts/feelings/intentions are understandably undergoing rapid change. In particular, he's trying to learn how to communicate and lead better.

He's a work in process as a man.

I'd like to add something to that comment, namely:

His teammates are all in similar positions, which should give them sympathy for each other's shortcomings.

[Fencer reregistered]

More from Pierce on Kyrie:

https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/03/11/bulpett-paul-pierce-thinks-key-to-celtics-is-kyrie-irving-on-and-off-the-court/

Except of course Pierce never grew into successfully being "the man". That was KG who joined the team, was "the man", and successfully changed the team culture.

My guess is that's what it will take for Kyrie too.

Pierce didn't really want to be the leader. He complained about being on a young team, saying it was like having lots of "younger brothers". (Note: He had older brothers growing up, not younger ones.) He got books on leadership to try to do better. But I don't recall him ever showing eagerness or comfort with the more vocal forms of leadership; the only kind of leadership I recall him being good at was quiet leading by example. (E.g., I conjecture that he not only worked hard because he thought it was a good idea, but also because he understood the importance of his teammates seeing that he did.)

[cloverleaf]

More from Pierce on Kyrie:

https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/03/11/bulpett-paul-pierce-thinks-key-to-celtics-is-kyrie-irving-on-and-off-the-court/

Except of course Pierce never grew into successfully being "the man". That was KG who joined the team, was "the man", and successfully changed the team culture.

My guess is that's what it will take for Kyrie too.

Pierce didn't really want to be the leader. He complained about being on a young team, saying it was like having lots of "younger brothers". (Note: He had older brothers growing up, not younger ones.) He got books on leadership to try to do better. But I don't recall him ever showing eagerness or comfort with the more vocal forms of leadership; the only kind of leadership I recall him being good at was quiet leading by example. (E.g., I conjecture that he not only worked hard because he thought it was a good idea, but also because he understood the importance of his teammates seeing that he did.)

When he was young he was in Toine's shadow, even though he was the better player pretty much from the start. But then he definitely got into the whole "his team" thing, including crowing for a few years about the one time they had made it to the ECF. He was looking to be moved if Danny couldn't make the team a legit contender, however--because he wanted to win, not because he didn't want to be "the man". And it being "his" team was the biggest challenge to making it all work. But he embraced being part of a three-man leadership team, which allowed KG's leadership to right the ship.

Oh, and complaining about the younger players sounds a lot like Kyrie, does it not?

[ConstableGeneva]

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