Marcus Smart: "Kyrie's a great teammate."; "We [Celtics] were dysfunctional."

[Rich Rane]

For anyone thinking Kyrie was fully responsible for Boston's underperforming season. Smart was on The Jump. Starts talking about what happened last season around the 2:58 mark.

Read on Twitter

[MrDollarBills]

For anyone thinking Kyrie was fully responsible for Boston's underperforming season. Smart was on The Jump. Starts talking about what happened last season around the 2:58 mark.

Read on Twitter

This paints an entirely different one from what we've been seeing others say about him.

Like I said before, me personally, he gets a clean slate just like every other player who has come through here in the Marks era.

[ecuhus1981]

I appreciate Marcus' honesty. Kyrie didn't do his job as a leader; still, we can hardly assign 100% blame on him alone. I don't think any one of the players is a "bad egg", it just didn't gel as a unit. Ainge is a snake, and Brad's schematics seem to rub alot of players the wrong way.

[SpeedyG]

I was watching that clip and I remembered...Kyrie is just 27 years old. I was around that age when I had my first real meaningful leadership role in the corporate world.

I had good motivations. I cared about the team. I had some great ideas. But not everything I did worked, and I definitely made mistakes.

And I took leadership classes/courses (and have done even more since).

I've learned some things since. When you speak to leaders later in life, even late in their 50s and 60s...they will tell you what they could have done better.

So to expect Kyrie (or anyone really) at age 27 to have mastered their leadership style and traits?

That's unfair....and not realistic.

I will also say, in every team I have been a part of, be it as a leader or as a team member...there is one constant.

Great leaders will have a tough time if the members aren't willing to follow, and even a bad leader can look great if the team rises to the occasion.

Maybe Kyrie made mistakes and wasn't a great leader, but it's becoming increasingly clear that the team as a whole in Boston didn't have the right mix either.

Sent from my SM-G925T using RealGM mobile app

[Paradise]

I love how these articles are just more burial attempts at Kyrie. No mention of Caris and Dinwiddie taking a leap next season? No mention of Kyrie with the best PnR bigs of his career?

Read on Twitter

[MGrand15]

I don't think Kyrie was good off the court last year but he was hardly the only one on that team. It's pretty obvious that a lot of his beef came from Rozier wanting to be a starter, whatever was going on with Gordon Hayward, Brown and Tatum thinking they were already stars, Morris stirring the pot. Too many guys caring about things other than winning. That just won't happen here.

[Claud]

Saltics fans taking another L

[MrDollarBills]

I don't think Kyrie was good off the court last year but he was hardly the only one on that team. It's pretty obvious that a lot of his beef came from Rozier wanting to be a starter, whatever was going on with Gordon Hayward, Brown and Tatum thinking they were already stars, Morris stirring the pot. Too many guys caring about things other than winning. That just won't happen here.

I heard some really bad stuff about Gordon Hayward that I won't repeat on here, but that locker room was a **** show.

[gigantes]

I heard some really bad stuff about Gordon Hayward that I won't repeat on here, but that locker room was a **** show.

Hayward...? Now that's interesting. Hint hint?

Meh. But overall, and as someone close to being a 20-year fan of the club at this point... I do think someone has to say this, mateys--

Your various defenses of Kyrie have merit IMO, but they also tend to glaringly overlook: 1) how utterly batsh-t crazy his body of beliefs have historically been, and 2) what that gal who recently interviewed him had to say in his defense ('he's wasn't the sole problem for sure, but he seems to have major issues that have a likelihood to cause divides and trouble for whatever team he plays for.')

The hope here is obviously that Kenny & staff can figure out a way to work with this guy. That's all well and fine, and that's where my personal bet lies.

But this endless load of seemingly uninformed, cheap 'Kyrie-defenses' makes me think how utterly gleeful other fans will be to tear in to the Nets, given the potential for problems down the road. Hopefully it never happens like I say, but as some Greek dude once said-- 'Know yourself, be willing to look yourself in the eye, and recognise your faults. Nobody in the world can hurt you if you're willing to do that bit of work ahead of them.'

[Paradise]

It’s really ESPN pushing this stupid narrative that every guest needs to answer if Kyrie is a good “teammate” ...

Spencer, Marcus Smart and now Caris getting asked the SAME question in a one week span of time.

Watch on YouTube

[MrDollarBills]

I heard some really bad stuff about Gordon Hayward that I won't repeat on here, but that locker room was a **** show.

Hayward...? Now that's interesting. Hint hint?

Meh. But overall, and as someone close to being a 20-year fan of the club at this point... I do think someone has to say this, mateys--

Your various defenses of Kyrie have merit IMO, but they also tend to glaringly overlook: 1) how utterly batsh-t crazy his body of beliefs have historically been, and 2) what that gal who recently interviewed him had to say in his defense ('he's wasn't the sole problem for sure, but he seems to have major issues that have a likelihood to cause divides and trouble for whatever team he plays for.')

The hope here is obviously that Kenny & staff can figure out a way to work with this guy. That's all well and fine, and that's where my personal bet lies.

But this endless load of seemingly uninformed, cheap 'Kyrie-defenses' makes me think how utterly gleeful other fans will be to tear in to the Nets, given the potential for problems down the road. Hopefully it never happens like I say, but as some Greek dude once said-- 'Know yourself, be willing to look yourself in the eye, and recognise your faults. Nobody in the world can hurt you if you're willing to do that bit of work ahead of them.'

I think the defenses coming from Net fans about Kyrie as a player have merit. People on the GB are trying to undersell him hard because they're salty af. His metrics are elite across the board. There is good reason to be excited about him being in Kenny Atkinson's offense.

I personally stay out of the whole stuff regarding Kyrie's character, I don't think Nets fans really have any business commenting on it until we get to know this guy ourselves. Yes, I do think he is a bit odd and his belief in conspiracy theory/metaphysics could either be just a phase he's going through or apart of an underlying issue...I'm concerned that he may be dealing with mental health issues, such as depression based on the things I've read or heard about him and his moody behavior. Mind you, as someone who has dealt with anxiety disorder and depression for most of my life, this isn't something that should be held against him or disqualifying...I would just hope that if he indeed does have some issues, he can get them addressed while he's here.

Either way, my stance on Kyrie Irving is that he starts fresh here with us. Whatever happened in Cleveland and Boston stays there, just like how what happened in LA with D'Angelo Russell stays there. I'll be rooting for Kyrie to have a monster year and hopefully he embraces the culture, positive energy, and camaraderie that we have come to know and love about Sean Marks' Nets.

[MrDollarBills]

It’s really ESPN pushing this stupid narrative that every guest needs to answer if Kyrie is a good “teammate” ...

Spencer, Marcus Smart and now Caris getting asked the SAME question in a one week span of time.

Watch on YouTube

Let them keep it up. We need Irving to have that chip on his shoulder. That's what drives our culture.

[gigantes]

I heard some really bad stuff about Gordon Hayward that I won't repeat on here, but that locker room was a **** show.

Hayward...? Now that's interesting. Hint hint?

Meh. But overall, and as someone close to being a 20-year fan of the club at this point... I do think someone has to say this, mateys--

Your various defenses of Kyrie have merit IMO, but they also tend to glaringly overlook: 1) how utterly batsh-t crazy his body of beliefs have historically been, and 2) what that gal who recently interviewed him had to say in his defense ('he's wasn't the sole problem for sure, but he seems to have major issues that have a likelihood to cause divides and trouble for whatever team he plays for.')

The hope here is obviously that Kenny & staff can figure out a way to work with this guy. That's all well and fine, and that's where my personal bet lies.

But this endless load of seemingly uninformed, cheap 'Kyrie-defenses' makes me think how utterly gleeful other fans will be to tear in to the Nets, given the potential for problems down the road. Hopefully it never happens like I say, but as some Greek dude once said-- 'Know yourself, be willing to look yourself in the eye, and recognise your faults. Nobody in the world can hurt you if you're willing to do that bit of work ahead of them.'

I think the defenses coming from Net fans about Kyrie as a player have merit. People on the GB are trying to undersell him hard because they're salty af. His metrics are elite across the board. There is good reason to be excited about him being in Kenny Atkinson's offense.

I personally stay out of the whole stuff regarding Kyrie's character, I don't think Nets fans really have any business commenting on it until we get to know this guy ourselves. Yes, I do think he is a bit odd and his belief in conspiracy theory/metaphysics could either be just a phase he's going through or apart of an underlying issue...I'm concerned that he may be dealing with mental health issues, such as depression based on the things I've read or heard about him and his moody behavior. Mind you, as someone who has dealt with anxiety disorder and depression for most of my life, this isn't something that should be held against him or disqualifying...I would just hope that if he indeed does have some issues, he can get them addressed while he's here.

Either way, my stance on Kyrie Irving is that he starts fresh here with us. Whatever happened in Cleveland and Boston stays there, just like how what happened in LA with D'Angelo Russell stays there. I'll be rooting for Kyrie to have a monster year and hopefully he embraces the culture, positive energy, and camaraderie that we have come to know and love about Sean Marks' Nets.

Yeah, rock on with all that. It's basically my hope / approach as well.

That said, given the body of prior evidence, I think it pretty likely that at one or more points during the season, Kyrie's going to feel disrespected or unfairly challenged by the players / team / etc. He would almost have to turn in to a different person for that not to happen, and I don't think all that gets 'fixed' merely by coming to the Nets. People don't change that dramatically in the space of a few months IME.

When that likely happens, my hope is that Markinson and staff are ready with some approaches and solutions that prior teams didn't try, for whatever reasons. I think that's a pretty good bet in fact, based on the overall quality & depth of the Nets support structure.

Not to mention, even if the staff does their absolute best with Kyrie, and he's still 25% salty or whatnot, my guess is that he'd nevertheless be able to say "this is still way better than the Celts & Cavs, and at least I get to play with some people I really like."

TBF I don't live in the area anymore, and certainly don't have to deal with the number of obnoxious, Nets-bashing knuckleheads that a lot of you surely do. Mos def you have my sympathies on that kind of thing.

[Prokorov]

I posted this on the GB:

Celtic fans continue to dump on Kyrie but anytime someone from the celtics opens their mouth all we hear is how it wasnt all about kyrie. As i've said on multiple occasions Kyrie handled it very poorly but the situation in Boston was Toxic. From the top down you had Ainge treating his young guys like assets, their names constantly in trades with no assurance to them. Stevens playing favorites with Heyward while not addressing the rifts between vets and young players (Brown/Morris apparently had an altercation). The young players getting Swollen egos from their ECF run and not accepting their roles once Kyrie and Heyward got back.

Add Smart's recent comments to the list:

Terry Rozier:

Everybody was running around with their heads cut off, like chickens,” Rozier said. “Coach was in a tough position, one of the toughest positions, dealing with all these guys with attitudes, all that ****. Guys that’s All-Stars, guys getting paid a lot of money, guys trying to get paid. It’s tough.”

Marucs Smart

Let's call a spade a spade, right? It’s true. We were dysfunctional...We all took part in it," said Smart.

"He didn’t play up to the standard that he wanted to. But there’s four other guys out there with him, there’s a coach out there. We’re all supposed to be one team so you just can’t put the blame on one guy. Everyone could have done better, to not just help Kyrie but help the team and help each other

More Smart

"He (Kyrie) was forced into a situation where it was business over the friendships. He had to come into a situation knowing this is a group of guys that had something going before [he came] here. 'How will I fit in?' He didn't want to disrupt that. That says a lot. This is Kyrie Irving we're talking about it, and he's worried about coming in and disrupting us. We took him in with full arms. We tried to understand. But like I said, we never really understood because we're not in his shoes. That's just a bulls--- statement to say his leadership skills killed us.

Danny Ainge

"Yes we had chemistry issues during the season and I did say on the show that it was not all on Kyrie. It was a lot of people who were responsible for chemistry issues. I don’t like the fact that all the blame is on him. I’d like everyone to take responsibility for that. So I feel like the Kyrie bashing is unfair. That’s all.”

Brad Stevens

The bottom line,” Stevens told ESPN, “is that we had seven perimeter guys who were all very good players, and all of them brought something different and unique to the table. If you ask any one of them, I’m sure they’ll tell you it was hard to find all that they wanted this season.

“I really don’t think it’s anyone’s fault,” Stevens says. “If you blame anyone, it’s me. I’m the guy who couldn’t fit the pieces.”

“I don’t lose any sleep over that. They were all extremely competitive, well-intentioned guys. The pieces just didn’t fit.”

Cedric Maxwell

"It wasn't just him," says former Celtic Cedric Maxwell, the team's radio analyst. "This group was the most dysfunctional team I've seen since 1983, when we had four Hall of Famers on our roster and got swept by the Milwaukee Bucks. These guys never found a way to be on the same page."

Not sure if it is generalizing or just a loud minority but it seems when players leave the celtics on their terms, not the teams, they get smeared on the way out. Ray Allen is a good example. Rondo another. Kyrie is not without blame, but I think what it all boils down to was that the situaiton in boston was toxic, Kyrie never wanted to be there and knew he was leaving for NY, and just didnt want to deal with it all. Not a good look, but Kyrie was a symptom, not the underlying disease.

Add in recent comments from Tatum and Wyc Grossbeck(owner) and it gets even more clear...

When the Owner, GM, Coach, Players, and Annoucners all say something between "it was a collective issue/entire team at fault" to "kyrie wasnt to blame" i think we can all rest assured that salty boston fans are probably way off on the issue.

[kamaze]

I love how these articles are just more burial attempts at Kyrie. No mention of Caris and Dinwiddie taking a leap next season? No mention of Kyrie with the best PnR bigs of his career?

Read on Twitter

In fairness we do have 9 new players on this team. They had a great off season but didn't address the power forward spot, they get better by adding another power forward next to Durant imo and bringing Kurucs off of the bench imo.

Kyrie is more efficient than Dlo but they gave up Napier who was a great third guard. The depth at point guard was a strength last season. Next year hopefully they bring over Isaia Cordinier he looked good in summer league.

I think this i a playoff team but I'm more excited about next year with Durant getting a training camp and one year of experience for the new guys in this system. Go Nets!

[kamaze]

I heard some really bad stuff about Gordon Hayward that I won't repeat on here, but that locker room was a **** show.

Hayward...? Now that's interesting. Hint hint?

Meh. But overall, and as someone close to being a 20-year fan of the club at this point... I do think someone has to say this, mateys--

Your various defenses of Kyrie have merit IMO, but they also tend to glaringly overlook: 1) how utterly batsh-t crazy his body of beliefs have historically been, and 2) what that gal who recently interviewed him had to say in his defense ('he's wasn't the sole problem for sure, but he seems to have major issues that have a likelihood to cause divides and trouble for whatever team he plays for.')

The hope here is obviously that Kenny & staff can figure out a way to work with this guy. That's all well and fine, and that's where my personal bet lies.

But this endless load of seemingly uninformed, cheap 'Kyrie-defenses' makes me think how utterly gleeful other fans will be to tear in to the Nets, given the potential for problems down the road. Hopefully it never happens like I say, but as some Greek dude once said-- 'Know yourself, be willing to look yourself in the eye, and recognise your faults. Nobody in the world can hurt you if you're willing to do that bit of work ahead of them.'

I think the defenses coming from Net fans about Kyrie as a player have merit. People on the GB are trying to undersell him hard because they're salty af. His metrics are elite across the board. There is good reason to be excited about him being in Kenny Atkinson's offense.

I personally stay out of the whole stuff regarding Kyrie's character, I don't think Nets fans really have any business commenting on it until we get to know this guy ourselves. Yes, I do think he is a bit odd and his belief in conspiracy theory/metaphysics could either be just a phase he's going through or apart of an underlying issue...I'm concerned that he may be dealing with mental health issues, such as depression based on the things I've read or heard about him and his moody behavior. Mind you, as someone who has dealt with anxiety disorder and depression for most of my life, this isn't something that should be held against him or disqualifying...I would just hope that if he indeed does have some issues, he can get them addressed while he's here.

Either way, my stance on Kyrie Irving is that he starts fresh here with us. Whatever happened in Cleveland and Boston stays there, just like how what happened in LA with D'Angelo Russell stays there. I'll be rooting for Kyrie to have a monster year and hopefully he embraces the culture, positive energy, and camaraderie that we have come to know and love about Sean Marks' Nets.

I have mental health issues as well but I've never heard Kyrie dealt with it. I have heard about him being mixed up with the occult though.





He has the all seeing eye on his sneakers too

[MrDollarBills]

Hayward...? Now that's interesting. Hint hint?

Meh. But overall, and as someone close to being a 20-year fan of the club at this point... I do think someone has to say this, mateys--

Your various defenses of Kyrie have merit IMO, but they also tend to glaringly overlook: 1) how utterly batsh-t crazy his body of beliefs have historically been, and 2) what that gal who recently interviewed him had to say in his defense ('he's wasn't the sole problem for sure, but he seems to have major issues that have a likelihood to cause divides and trouble for whatever team he plays for.')

The hope here is obviously that Kenny & staff can figure out a way to work with this guy. That's all well and fine, and that's where my personal bet lies.

But this endless load of seemingly uninformed, cheap 'Kyrie-defenses' makes me think how utterly gleeful other fans will be to tear in to the Nets, given the potential for problems down the road. Hopefully it never happens like I say, but as some Greek dude once said-- 'Know yourself, be willing to look yourself in the eye, and recognise your faults. Nobody in the world can hurt you if you're willing to do that bit of work ahead of them.'

I think the defenses coming from Net fans about Kyrie as a player have merit. People on the GB are trying to undersell him hard because they're salty af. His metrics are elite across the board. There is good reason to be excited about him being in Kenny Atkinson's offense.

I personally stay out of the whole stuff regarding Kyrie's character, I don't think Nets fans really have any business commenting on it until we get to know this guy ourselves. Yes, I do think he is a bit odd and his belief in conspiracy theory/metaphysics could either be just a phase he's going through or apart of an underlying issue...I'm concerned that he may be dealing with mental health issues, such as depression based on the things I've read or heard about him and his moody behavior. Mind you, as someone who has dealt with anxiety disorder and depression for most of my life, this isn't something that should be held against him or disqualifying...I would just hope that if he indeed does have some issues, he can get them addressed while he's here.

Either way, my stance on Kyrie Irving is that he starts fresh here with us. Whatever happened in Cleveland and Boston stays there, just like how what happened in LA with D'Angelo Russell stays there. I'll be rooting for Kyrie to have a monster year and hopefully he embraces the culture, positive energy, and camaraderie that we have come to know and love about Sean Marks' Nets.

I have mental health issues as well but I've never heard Kyrie dealt with it. I have heard about him being mixed up with the occult though.





He has the all seeing eye on his sneakers too

Irving, based on what I have seen from his social media and his tattoos, is a believer in The Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetic_Order_of_the_Golden_Dawn

What he believes in is his personal business, as a fan of the team I just care what happens on the court. But knowing his background, I can't help but think that his obsession with things like this are a coping mechanism.

[Prokorov]

I love how these articles are just more burial attempts at Kyrie. No mention of Caris and Dinwiddie taking a leap next season? No mention of Kyrie with the best PnR bigs of his career?

Read on Twitter

In fairness we do have 9 new players on this team. They had a great off season but didn't address the power forward spot, they get better by adding another power forward next to Durant imo and bringing Kurucs off of the bench imo.

Kyrie is more efficient than Dlo but they gave up Napier who was a great third guard. The depth at point guard was a strength last season. Next year hopefully they bring over Isaia Cordinier he looked good in summer league.

I think this i a playoff team but I'm more excited about next year with Durant getting a training camp and one year of experience for the new guys in this system. Go Nets!

we dont have a PF spot in our system. we brought in prince to play the second F spot next to harris. he may start over kurucs

napier was dog turd last year

[Paradise]

Hayward...? Now that's interesting. Hint hint?

Meh. But overall, and as someone close to being a 20-year fan of the club at this point... I do think someone has to say this, mateys--

Your various defenses of Kyrie have merit IMO, but they also tend to glaringly overlook: 1) how utterly batsh-t crazy his body of beliefs have historically been, and 2) what that gal who recently interviewed him had to say in his defense ('he's wasn't the sole problem for sure, but he seems to have major issues that have a likelihood to cause divides and trouble for whatever team he plays for.')

The hope here is obviously that Kenny & staff can figure out a way to work with this guy. That's all well and fine, and that's where my personal bet lies.

But this endless load of seemingly uninformed, cheap 'Kyrie-defenses' makes me think how utterly gleeful other fans will be to tear in to the Nets, given the potential for problems down the road. Hopefully it never happens like I say, but as some Greek dude once said-- 'Know yourself, be willing to look yourself in the eye, and recognise your faults. Nobody in the world can hurt you if you're willing to do that bit of work ahead of them.'

I think the defenses coming from Net fans about Kyrie as a player have merit. People on the GB are trying to undersell him hard because they're salty af. His metrics are elite across the board. There is good reason to be excited about him being in Kenny Atkinson's offense.

I personally stay out of the whole stuff regarding Kyrie's character, I don't think Nets fans really have any business commenting on it until we get to know this guy ourselves. Yes, I do think he is a bit odd and his belief in conspiracy theory/metaphysics could either be just a phase he's going through or apart of an underlying issue...I'm concerned that he may be dealing with mental health issues, such as depression based on the things I've read or heard about him and his moody behavior. Mind you, as someone who has dealt with anxiety disorder and depression for most of my life, this isn't something that should be held against him or disqualifying...I would just hope that if he indeed does have some issues, he can get them addressed while he's here.

Either way, my stance on Kyrie Irving is that he starts fresh here with us. Whatever happened in Cleveland and Boston stays there, just like how what happened in LA with D'Angelo Russell stays there. I'll be rooting for Kyrie to have a monster year and hopefully he embraces the culture, positive energy, and camaraderie that we have come to know and love about Sean Marks' Nets.

I have mental health issues as well but I've never heard Kyrie dealt with it. I have heard about him being mixed up with the occult though.





He has the all seeing eye on his sneakers too

I grew up in a conscious community setting so I am very familiar with what Kyrie is following and it’s very complicated because of the depth of the information that plenty may not understand but it is really all about ancestry, world history and understanding where black civilizations started. The ‘all seeing eye’ being the third eye aka the pineal gland or in Egyptian culture is known as Eye of Horus is what Kyrie’s brand has been all about lately.

He is from the Native American Indian tribe called the Sioux Cherokees which is also within my bloodlines as a West Indian, American Indian. Most black people are unaware they also could have Native American ancestry.

Kyrie is really disliked because he tweeted “**** Thanksgiving” last season after proclaiming his nationality as a Native American.

[kamaze]

I think the defenses coming from Net fans about Kyrie as a player have merit. People on the GB are trying to undersell him hard because they're salty af. His metrics are elite across the board. There is good reason to be excited about him being in Kenny Atkinson's offense.

I personally stay out of the whole stuff regarding Kyrie's character, I don't think Nets fans really have any business commenting on it until we get to know this guy ourselves. Yes, I do think he is a bit odd and his belief in conspiracy theory/metaphysics could either be just a phase he's going through or apart of an underlying issue...I'm concerned that he may be dealing with mental health issues, such as depression based on the things I've read or heard about him and his moody behavior. Mind you, as someone who has dealt with anxiety disorder and depression for most of my life, this isn't something that should be held against him or disqualifying...I would just hope that if he indeed does have some issues, he can get them addressed while he's here.

Either way, my stance on Kyrie Irving is that he starts fresh here with us. Whatever happened in Cleveland and Boston stays there, just like how what happened in LA with D'Angelo Russell stays there. I'll be rooting for Kyrie to have a monster year and hopefully he embraces the culture, positive energy, and camaraderie that we have come to know and love about Sean Marks' Nets.

I have mental health issues as well but I've never heard Kyrie dealt with it. I have heard about him being mixed up with the occult though.





He has the all seeing eye on his sneakers too

I grew up in a conscious community setting so I am very familiar with what Kyrie is following and it’s very complicated because of the depth of the information that plenty may not understand but it is really all about ancestry, world history and understanding where black civilizations started. The ‘all seeing eye’ being the third eye aka the pineal gland or in Egyptian culture is known as Eye of Horus is what Kyrie’s brand has been all about lately.

He is from the Native American Indian tribe called the Sioux Cherokees which is also within my bloodlines as a West Indian, American Indian. Most black people are unaware they also could have Native American ancestry.

Kyrie is really disliked because he tweeted “**** Thanksgiving” last season after proclaiming his nationality as a Native American.

Im not up on the third eye beliefs but I do believe more black Americans have native American blood than African. I have some native in me as well.