I've read various statistical analyses of this situation, and it is not at all clear that the team is better, as a team, with Kyrie. But statistics don't tell the whole picture. Anyone who has ever been on a team, in sports or any other endeavor, knows that the impact on the attitude and the impact on the other players is what matters. And to understand that, you can't simply look at isolated minutes when a guy is on the bench.
With Kyrie, everyone knows that the game is about him. He's made that pretty clear, over the years and even in comments this year. That means people like Tatum and Brown and Rozier and Smart and Hayward aren't going to get a chance to play team basketball. And if also means that Brad Stephens isn't being leveraged because he's a TEAM coach. This isn't that difficult to understand.
I completely agree that a GM who trades Irving is probably going to get roasted. But that doesn't mean it isn't the right thing to do. The Patriots would move him so fast it would be crazy. He's just not about the team first. Too many isolations. Too little defense. Too little ball movement. It's clear that others on the team are frustrated with him, and to make matters worse, he criticizes THEM.
Now, I didn't say they should trade him for Whiteside straight up. I think there are other players in the league that would be even better. AD of course. The point is that addition by subtraction sometimes works. And of course Ainge has to say that it would be crazy to trade Irving. First, Irving would freak out if he heard Ainge criticize him publicly. Second, it would decrease his trade value.
What I'm saying is that the Celtics are a better team, a more effective team over the long term, without a player who doesn't play intense defense, who doesn't get others involved as much as he should, and who wants to be a superstar more than he wants to be on a super team. Teams win. Teams led by players who work and play harder than anyone on the court, and who demand the same kind of intensity and effort from others. Actions speak louder than words.