In an ESPN's The Jump interview that aired on Wednesday morning, Kyrie Irving spoke to Rachel Nichols about what this year's been like in Boston, now that the season is more than two-thirds of the way through and it's no longer all preseason hypotheticals. During the sit down, the 26-year-old spoke on the Celtics' chemistry (or, at times, lack thereof) and also that phone call he made to LeBron James in which he empathized with his former teammate now that the shoe is on the other foot.
"It's a lot to figure out all in one year," Irving admitted of the roster figuring out each of their roles. "It's been a trying year for us. Because we basically have a bunch of young men in our locker room that feel like they're capable of doing a lot more of what they're doing," he added.
"And that's OK. But there's a maturity that you have to have. There's a professionalism that you have to really showcase every single day. And that's what the great ones do."
This, of course, is similar to comments he made back in January, though this time around he was a little more specific about the situation.
"I initially didn't play the minutes I wanted to play. I'm 26 years old heading into my prime. Like why do I have to wait for anybody?" Irving said. "Terry Rozier—he played in the [2018] playoffs, he did extremely well. Coming back, that's a natural competition that me and him have. Like, it is what it is. No one wants to say it, but I will."
Irving further elaborated on what it's like playing on a roster full of talented young players. "It's part of their growth," he said. "When you have winning in mind, then you've got to do what it takes, but you've got to understand your teammates."
He also talked about headlines he made when he called LeBron to pick his brain, now that he's in the leadership role, instead of the role of the young guy figuring out the league. When Rachel Nichols asked him why he made the phone call he said that it helped him "move forward."
"I think it takes a very, very strong individual to replay a lot of the experiences that you had, a lot of anger you had built up where you didn't address the situation and you allowed it to fester and it was just combustion," Irving said. "It came out and then you realize, man, I didn't have to deal with that the same way I dealt with that (...) Mind you I have no regrets with any decision I've made about my individual journey and what I want and see for my career. And yeah, apologizing was just a step for me to move forward in my life."
That's experience for ya. From there, without stating specifics (sorry), he also talked about the free agency rumors (which are increasingly rampant), and the effect that the media has on locker rooms. Check it all out below:
