Kyrie talks about Boston departure; references depression due to grandfather’s death

[cman88]

the only thing I dont like about his comments is he seems to say other guys had "individual goals" which contributed to failure. maybe I took it wrong but to me seemed like he was saying "well my faults were just due to my grandfathers death, but everyone else was too selfish"

[Scottiej23]

Attention seeking rubbish...

[RockinRyA]

the only thing I dont like about his comments is he seems to say other guys had "individual goals" which contributed to failure. maybe I took it wrong but to me seemed like he was saying "well my faults were just due to my grandfathers death, but everyone else was too selfish"

Its true though. Clearly guys like Rozier have their own goals and its so obvious.

[Fierce1]

the only thing I dont like about his comments is he seems to say other guys had "individual goals" which contributed to failure. maybe I took it wrong but to me seemed like he was saying "well my faults were just due to my grandfathers death, but everyone else was too selfish"

Its true though. Clearly guys like Rozier have their own goals and its so obvious.

It was Ainge's job to make sure the Celts did not have chemistry issues.
But because Ainge was all in on the Anthony Davis sweepstakes, Ainge didn't make a move or moves to remove some of the players that were causing problems.

The one guy that was clearly unhappy with what was happening was Rozier.
But you can't blame Rozier because he was to become a free-agent.
Rozier was fighting for his next contract.

I think it would have been a different story if Ainge made a move as early as December to correct the problem.

It was very clear that the Celts didn't have the right mix of players.
As early as November last year it was obvious the Celts had too many players of the same kind.

[Somebody]

Glad to see that others share the same sentiment with me. I'm sympathetic to him losing a loved one and going through some mental issues as a result, but this sounds like an excuse imo.

[ozgod]

I wish him well, I have no resentment towards him. I hope he finds happiness or whatever he's looking for with the Nets. I'm probably one of the few who do think that players need to do the right thing for themselves even if it means we lose them as a player, it's their career end of day. Same way that I don't resent ex-coworkers who decide to move to another company, I'm still friends with them. But by that token I've moved on from him, I'm all about OUR team and the guys wearing OUR uniform right now. It's fair to say he won't go down as one of the great Celtics, and that's ok, you have to earn that right, not just allude to it in a TV commercial. Accepting responsibility for your share in something that went wrong is the first step towards holding yourself accountable and moving on.

Since watching the Celtics since 1986 I've seen tons of players come and go, some willingly, some unwillingly, some I was glad to see go, others I was sorry to see go, some I will remember fondly, others not so much. But once they go that's it, they're on someone else's team now and good luck to them but Go Celtics! 

[SparzWizard]

Ainge failed this team too for banking too much on Anthony Davis by the trade deadline, who never even wanted to play for the Celtics.

You pick up Kanter and you might've had a shot against the Bucks. And Brad Stevens for not doing an excellent job on coaching/managing the locker room last season.

[gpap]

Regardless of everything, both Kyrie and the Celts were better off parting ways.

We have a player in Kemba who is almost on par with Kyrie, but also seems to be fitting in alot better with his teammates.

I wish Kyrie happiness, except for when Brooklyn plays the Celts. I also like our team over Brooklyn, even with KD on the Nets.

[RJ87]

I believe Kyrie's grandfather's passing had a significant impact on him, and I am open to believing that Kyrie believes that that trauma is the reason he left Boston. But I don't believe that was the root cause of why he left. Sorry. Some people convince themselves of things to prevent them from dealing with hard truths, and I think that's what's happened here.

The hard truth is that Kyrie started talking to Nets players, and to Kevin Durant, very early on in the Celtics' 2018-19 season. There was no reporting whatsoever of Kyrie suffering a loss in the family, or even that he was going through personal struggles, in the innumerable stories about his frayed relationships with the coach and teammates.

There is little to no explanation for why Kyrie felt that living in Brooklyn, NY during a portion of the calendar year would be better for his mental health than living in Boston, MA. Keep in mind that this is the same person who, about one year ago when asked about the possibility of him going "back home" to play in New York, responded: "I'm from New Jersey, just to be clear."

The most likely explanation is that Kyrie's team struggled out the gate in the 2018-19 regular season, he saw a long and difficult road ahead with a high probability of failure (as in, the team probably wasn't going to the NBA finals), and he started looking for an escape hatch.

That doesn't making him a bad person, and it doesn't mean he's some sort backstabber or something. That type of language is way too harsh. This is the man's life and he can do what he pleases. But the truth remains that he effectively made a promise to the organization and his teammates and then backtracked quickly thereafter. At least give him credit for acknowledging that he didn't put in the effort that the rest of the team deserved out of him. But that's about it.

Literally from October last year:

https://celticswire.usatoday.com/2018/10/30/kyrie-irving-will-miss-upcoming-game-for-late-grandfathers-memorial/

[iadera]

I think he's lying. He just always comes with a different story about the same issue.

[moiso]

I think he's lying. He just always comes with a different story about the same issue.

Hate to say it, but me too.  He always wants to control the narrative and spin things his way.

[rollie mass]

Marcus lost his mum!!
Isaiah lost his sister!!!!!!
Jaylen lost his best friend !!!!!
Hayward suffered a horrific accident!!!!!!
Remember his actions when the kids were in the playoffs.
Can we get a refund Kyrie. No sign and trade Kyrie.
Just a screw you to one of the finest basketball operations in history.
Not only did you fail as a leader you blew off the playoffs for your teammates in your rush to get with Durant in New York.
NOW IT'S DAMAGE CONTROL and poor me-
You damaged the Celtics as a whole .


 Thank God I got a chance to see Isaiah's heroic season

[timpiker]

Oh Boy - This guy and his gobbly-gook double talk just never end.

I'm very empathetic to someone dealing with emotional pain, how difficult it can be and how confusing it is to find help, if we can even admit that we can't handle many things in life all by ourselves. But that is not what I am hearing from Irving. Just sounds like the same mumbo jumbo and all the comments about him feeling an inclusive family atmosphere in Brooklyn are just more of his usual platitudes about his latest fresh start. I would have some respect if Irving would have kept his personal comments brief, expressed his regret over his time in Boston and talked about basketball after that.

His most ridiculous comment, which was the one that reminded me how self-important and pretentious this guy is, was his declaration to safeguard the health and well-being of his close friend, Kevin Durant, "And I'm going to be the protector of that all throughout the year and not allowing anyone to infiltrate that circle." Huh ?

Whenever anything comes out of his mouth I just want to puke.  Where the hell did he learn to write or speak?  Mars? 

And on another point.  That POS is DEAD to me.

[nickagneta]

I believe Kyrie. It's not easy to come forward and admit that his emotional reaction turned into a medical issue such as depression. Depression isn't just feeling sad. It saps your strength, your ability to concentrate, your ability to be motivated, your ability to enjoy things in life and your ability to perform tasks. It screws with sleep cycles, appetite, eating patterns, and decision making processes. Depression is a disease.

And everybody handles death differently. I have mental illness but when it comes to dealing with death I compartmentalize and work through it. I am always my family's strong one. I take care of things. And I do not let it affect me emotionally to the point a depressive episode sets in. But that's me. I do everything I can to not fall into depressive or manic episodes. Kyrie, maybe this was one of his first great losses or maybe he just always takes death very hard and depression sets in for him.

The thing about depression, once you get it, you are more likely to have future episodes and if you do get another episode, it will have the likelihood of being worse than the one preceding it. Who knows if this is Kyrie's first episode? This might be the sign that Kyrie has some other mental illnesses and depression is just a symptom of something else, something worse.

Kyrie went public with a mental illness. Most hide their illness due to the public perception of those with mental illness. You get labeled crazy, weird, weak minded, etc. For him to come forward, I applaud that. That takes balls because, well, just look at the reactions here.....

I hope Kyrie has gotten over his issue and wish him the best except when playing Boston. I will always blame him as part of the problem that caused last year, but like any other ex-Celtic, best luck in the future to you Kyrie, I just do not care about you any more than any other player not on the Celtics.

[moiso]

Ask Kyrie if he has a mental illness and I bet he says “no”.  That narrative won’t benefit him.