Why Kyrie Irving's New Teammates Believe Ex-Celtic Is 'Misunderstood'

It’s impossible to view Kyrie Irving as anything other than insufferable, right?

Well, think again.

Between joining the Boston Celtics in 2017 and bolting for the Brooklyn Nets last week, Irving developed a reputation for being disingenuous, moody and obnoxiously fake-woke. Those are all worthy criticisms if you ask us, but the star guard’s new teammates have different views on the 27-year-old.

Check out these quotes from Joe Harris, who played with Irving on the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014 to 2016, and Taurean Prince, whom the Nets acquired via trade with the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday:

Joe Harris on Kyrie Irving: "Kyrie, he’s got a big personality. I think he’s one of these guys that’s misunderstood. I think the way that he’s construed in the media is probably going to paint him in a light that is not necessarily true."

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 8, 2019

Joe Harris on Kyrie Irving off the court while teammates in Cleveland: "I had a lot of good times with him. He’s a lot of fun to be around whether it’s hanging out, playing video games, grabbing a drink, whatever it might be."

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 8, 2019

Taurean Prince on Kyrie Irving: “He’s a deep thinker, and he thinks things differently than a lot of people, and I think that’s why he is who he is, in my opinion. Great person from what I’ve met, very competitive, and very strong-minded.”

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 7, 2019

Kyrie Irving? A “deep thinker?”

Eh…

Irving is set to join forces with Kevin Durant (who faces a length recovery from the torn Achilles he suffered in the NBA Finals) and DeAndre Jordan, forming a potentially lengthy trio. However, we don’t think it’s a shoe-in that Irving’s new team will be better than the one he betrayed.