MagicBagley18 wrote:Edug27 wrote:Isiah Thomas was on "First Things First" this morning talking about Kyrie, and he pretty much stated what I've been saying for awhile now. Yes, Kyrie has things to learn about being a leader, and he will improve with time and experience. But there were also some dudes in the locker room that didn't want to be led... especially by Kyrie. Rozier mentioned many times he was competing with Kyrie and gunnin' for his spot. Jaylen had his own issues with finding his role in the offense.
IFFFF, and that's a big if, Kyrie is open to returning to Boston, then Danny needs to remove anyone from that locker room that does not want to be led by Kyrie. The team needs to be built AROUND Kyrie (and hopefully AD). A roster full of players that compliment him and personalities that blend well with his. Kyrie needs vets that are secure in their roles and are consistent in what they bring day in and day out. Players who understand the pecking order.
Because at the end of the day, as Isiah stated, KYRIE IS THE UNIQUE TALENT HERE. He is the star player with an elite skill set. Dudes like Rozier and Jaylen are replaceable.
Now, with all of that said, Kyrie has shown one big thing to me this year.... He's not a number 1. In order to be the best with Kyrie, you need a player in here that he gets along with and is superior to him. He's an ideal #2 option on a team.
This sums up exactly how I feel about the situation and you articulated it much better than I ever could. Agree with all this. Kyrie had a lot of flaws this year and he sucked against the bucks but he could have been general patton and rozier wouldn’t have followed him.
I also agree with a lot of this, and this is why Danny, Brad, Wyc etc have such a tough situation to navigate. Getting the other long term star who is superior to pair him with is going to be difficult though, and also no guarantee it makes them better than the Bucks to be honest. I'm also very unsure if Irving's "unique talent" is good enough to tie your franchise to. The sample size is very small and very specific to playing second banana to the best player in the league.
From a personal perspective, I also don't enjoy the Irving experience very much as a fan. Both with him as an individual and stylistically as a basketball player. Shoot first, over dribbling guards who are at their peak are average at defense, are not my cup of tea.
Really seems like a low floor, high ceiling situation to me. An Irving/Davis/Horford/Hayward based team could be pretty special, and could be good enough next season to push for a championship and get Davis to sign a new deal. And while a lot of it is probably unfounded nonsense and exaggeration, there is certainly enough smoke around Irving that it could also fail pretty spectacularly too and Davis walks.