It’s been quite the season for Kyrie Irving … and not necessarily in a good way.
The Boston Celtics guard has been under intense scrutiny most of the campaign, especially after he didn’t exactly double down on his comments about returning to Boston next season despite verbally committing in October.
Since then there’s been plenty of questions surrounding the 26-year-old — from his reported “disengagement” from the team to how he’s handled the media. There are plenty of talking heads that are convinced he won’t be in a Celtics uniform come the 2019-20 season, which has led some to believe Irving’s gripe is geared toward the media and not his actual happiness with being a leader.
Irving has made some interesting comments of late — from how the media divides locker rooms to ripping cameramen on his way to the locker room.
But the guard later apologized, acknowledging that he didn’t handle things in a perfect way, and that caught the attention of Jalen Rose.
The ESPN “Get Up!” host said he respects Irving’s decision to apologize, noting what he said during his apology was very important.
“He’s a young man, he’s allowed to mature. This is his first time being in a position of leadership on a team that is expected to be a contender, that has expectations,” Rose said Tuesday. “This is something that he asked for. The thing that can’t get overlooked in this quote is, ‘I’ve been reading things.’ Initially I talked about the fact that when he went to the podium, he just seemed like he was miserable. … And that doesn’t come from the sports media. That comes from social media. So for him to acknowledge that I really respect.”
It certainly makes a lot of sense if that’s what really was irking Irving. And after a 3-1 West Coast road trip, Boston will look to win for the fourth time in five games when it takes on the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night at TD Garden.
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