VERY concerned about Irving's attitude

[incoherent]

Rather him talk selfish then play selfish like IT

You're going to be in for a surprise.

It's pretty annoying seeing you bash Kyrie for being a selfish player  when him and IT averaged 5.8 and 5.9 assist per game this season.  Then look at the playoffs and you'll see Kyrie has more assist per game then IT.  Hate much?  Are you going to pull out some advanced stat that makes your case narrowly?

[PickNRoll]

Nothing from that press conference indicated to me a level of selfishness that is troublesome.

Reporters were posing questions DIRECTED AT IRVING!  What was the guy supposed to do?

I thought he was extremely well spoken.  I particularly enjoyed how he started off things with his "real world" comments and his admiration for his new teammates & coaching staff. 

Saw zero red flags yesterday.

Extremely well-spoken?!  Here's a transcript of his first comment.  I didn't omit any words, but it reads as though I have.  He has an almost Trump-like quality to his speech, darting from one idea to another, omitting words seemingly at random, mixing idioms and inventing new uses for words.

Now, mind you, I don't give two $hit$ about the manner of his speech and I'm not playing grammar police.  He was hired to get buckets and he's one of the best in the world at his job. I'm sure he was nervous too.  But I would not say he's "extremely well-spoken".  I think he should stay away from the mic.    Here's the exact quote:

Q: You said that you want to maximize your potential.  Why do you feel that Boston could be that place for you?

First and foremost, before we get into that question, before we get dive into the importance of why we're all here, I just want appreciate everyone up here on this stage and the opportunity that's in front of us to go after something that's bigger than ourselves, but before we get to that I just want to say that sometimes we get lost into these two hoops and it's basketball that the most humane things that make us human we lose track of sometimes and I want to take a timeout to, you know, wish my well energy and heartfelt to Jae Crowder and his mother because that's a hard situation to go through, especially when he gets wrapped up in all this, as well as I.T.'s sister and as well as those affected in Charlottesville and those affected in Houston.  That is all reality-based and I live in that world.  In this basketball me perfecting my craft is very important to me, but outside of this game I live a very much real life and I appreciate the people around me as we as all the human beings I end up meeting and I just wanted to come out and say that -- that my appreciation for the world goes deeper than I think a lot of people realize and I take my respects for all those people as well as everyone affected by anything, you know.  We're all here with you and my prayers are with you so... now that I said that, now that I could officially move on to answering that. 

he's not extremely well spoken in the general sense
But compared to other nba players, he is extremely well spoken. Have you seen the mumblers in the league

He speaks into the microphone.  He's audible.  He enunciates and you can identify the words that come out of his mouth.  The words don't form coherent sentences.  Is that our standard for "extremely well-spoken"?

Are you using the little cut that you provided as evidence that he can't form coherent sentences? If so, yikes. Your deductive reasoning might need work. You can't use one snippet to say that he can't put together a coherent sentence. You should use the entirety of the presser. Most people here would disagree with your premise.

I thought that his answers, in general, were well thought out. At the same time, why does any of this matter? If he scores 30 ppg this year, do you think anyone will care about what he said in August?

I already said it doesn't matter.  Someone said he's well-spoken.  He isn't.  That simple.  I'd be thrilled to have him on the team if he was mute.

[Roy H.]

Rather him talk selfish then play selfish like IT

You're going to be in for a surprise.

What does that mean?

Do you have insider info on Kyrie Irving? What do you know that the rest of the basketball viewers around here don't know?

His past should have very little to do with his future, considering that he is coming to a team where he is expected to be a floor general and leader. This was not the expectation in Cleveland.

Lebron James has an effect on teams. He undoubtedly makes them better, but also changes the chemistry- for better and worse.

Is the entirety of his career to date just irrelevant?

To date, Kyrie has shown himself to be more selfish than IT both on and off the court.

[incoherent]

Rather him talk selfish then play selfish like IT

You're going to be in for a surprise.

What does that mean?

Do you have insider info on Kyrie Irving? What do you know that the rest of the basketball viewers around here don't know?

His past should have very little to do with his future, considering that he is coming to a team where he is expected to be a floor general and leader. This was not the expectation in Cleveland.

Lebron James has an effect on teams. He undoubtedly makes them better, but also changes the chemistry- for better and worse.

Is the entirety of his career to date just irrelevant?

To date, Kyrie has shown himself to be more selfish than IT both on and off the court.

It's pretty annoying seeing you bash Kyrie for being a selfish player  when him and IT averaged 5.8 and 5.9 assist per game this season.  Then look at the playoffs and you'll see Kyrie has more assist per game then IT.  Hate much?  Are you going to pull out some advanced stat that makes your case narrowly?

[ssspence]

Rather him talk selfish then play selfish like IT

You're going to be in for a surprise.

What does that mean?

Do you have insider info on Kyrie Irving? What do you know that the rest of the basketball viewers around here don't know?

His past should have very little to do with his future, considering that he is coming to a team where he is expected to be a floor general and leader. This was not the expectation in Cleveland.

Lebron James has an effect on teams. He undoubtedly makes them better, but also changes the chemistry- for better and worse.

Is the entirety of his career to date just irrelevant?

To date, Kyrie has shown himself to be more selfish than IT both on and off the court.

Yet you're fan club president of the most selfish (and arguably least self aware) player in the league. Why does it bother you with Kyrie, yet not with other players?

[green_bballers13]

Rather him talk selfish then play selfish like IT

You're going to be in for a surprise.

What does that mean?

Do you have insider info on Kyrie Irving? What do you know that the rest of the basketball viewers around here don't know?

His past should have very little to do with his future, considering that he is coming to a team where he is expected to be a floor general and leader. This was not the expectation in Cleveland.

Lebron James has an effect on teams. He undoubtedly makes them better, but also changes the chemistry- for better and worse.

Is the entirety of his career to date just irrelevant?

To date, Kyrie has shown himself to be more selfish than IT both on and off the court.

When it mattered in a game, Lebron was the point forward, and Kyrie effectively played like a scoring SG.

Unless Lebron is traded to the Celtics, I don't see Kyrie's role being that similar with the Celtics.

I don't think that his career has been irrelevant. Quite the opposite- he has proven that he is a first tier scorer.

It seems that you think that this 25 year old's career is set in stone, and he is incapable of changing with a change of scenery. I don't understand this perspective.

[gouki88]

Rather him talk selfish then play selfish like IT

You're going to be in for a surprise.

What does that mean?

Do you have insider info on Kyrie Irving? What do you know that the rest of the basketball viewers around here don't know?

His past should have very little to do with his future, considering that he is coming to a team where he is expected to be a floor general and leader. This was not the expectation in Cleveland.

Lebron James has an effect on teams. He undoubtedly makes them better, but also changes the chemistry- for better and worse.

Is the entirety of his career to date just irrelevant?

To date, Kyrie has shown himself to be more selfish than IT both on and off the court.

You've really made it your mission to paint Kyrie as inferior to IT for some reason. I get not liking the trade, but it's gone a bit far.

[green_bballers13]

Nothing from that press conference indicated to me a level of selfishness that is troublesome.

Reporters were posing questions DIRECTED AT IRVING!  What was the guy supposed to do?

I thought he was extremely well spoken.  I particularly enjoyed how he started off things with his "real world" comments and his admiration for his new teammates & coaching staff. 

Saw zero red flags yesterday.

Extremely well-spoken?!  Here's a transcript of his first comment.  I didn't omit any words, but it reads as though I have.  He has an almost Trump-like quality to his speech, darting from one idea to another, omitting words seemingly at random, mixing idioms and inventing new uses for words.

Now, mind you, I don't give two $hit$ about the manner of his speech and I'm not playing grammar police.  He was hired to get buckets and he's one of the best in the world at his job. I'm sure he was nervous too.  But I would not say he's "extremely well-spoken".  I think he should stay away from the mic.    Here's the exact quote:

Q: You said that you want to maximize your potential.  Why do you feel that Boston could be that place for you?

First and foremost, before we get into that question, before we get dive into the importance of why we're all here, I just want appreciate everyone up here on this stage and the opportunity that's in front of us to go after something that's bigger than ourselves, but before we get to that I just want to say that sometimes we get lost into these two hoops and it's basketball that the most humane things that make us human we lose track of sometimes and I want to take a timeout to, you know, wish my well energy and heartfelt to Jae Crowder and his mother because that's a hard situation to go through, especially when he gets wrapped up in all this, as well as I.T.'s sister and as well as those affected in Charlottesville and those affected in Houston.  That is all reality-based and I live in that world.  In this basketball me perfecting my craft is very important to me, but outside of this game I live a very much real life and I appreciate the people around me as we as all the human beings I end up meeting and I just wanted to come out and say that -- that my appreciation for the world goes deeper than I think a lot of people realize and I take my respects for all those people as well as everyone affected by anything, you know.  We're all here with you and my prayers are with you so... now that I said that, now that I could officially move on to answering that. 

he's not extremely well spoken in the general sense
But compared to other nba players, he is extremely well spoken. Have you seen the mumblers in the league

He speaks into the microphone.  He's audible.  He enunciates and you can identify the words that come out of his mouth.  The words don't form coherent sentences.  Is that our standard for "extremely well-spoken"?

Are you using the little cut that you provided as evidence that he can't form coherent sentences? If so, yikes. Your deductive reasoning might need work. You can't use one snippet to say that he can't put together a coherent sentence. You should use the entirety of the presser. Most people here would disagree with your premise.

I thought that his answers, in general, were well thought out. At the same time, why does any of this matter? If he scores 30 ppg this year, do you think anyone will care about what he said in August?

I already said it doesn't matter.  Someone said he's well-spoken.  He isn't.  That simple.  I'd be thrilled to have him on the team if he was mute.

Huh? You are saying that you are not thrilled by having Kyrie unless he is incapable of speaking?Would that make him a good leader?

You guys are starting to grasp at straws to find negative things about Kyrie. It's ok to say you don't like him. It just feels weird to read such drivel.

Come on boys, let's step up the level of conversation around here! No one said you need to love Kyrie. I just want to read well reasoned arguments supporting this case.

[trickybilly]

Rather him talk selfish then play selfish like IT

You're going to be in for a surprise.

What does that mean?

Do you have insider info on Kyrie Irving? What do you know that the rest of the basketball viewers around here don't know?

His past should have very little to do with his future, considering that he is coming to a team where he is expected to be a floor general and leader. This was not the expectation in Cleveland.

Lebron James has an effect on teams. He undoubtedly makes them better, but also changes the chemistry- for better and worse.

Is the entirety of his career to date just irrelevant?

To date, Kyrie has shown himself to be more selfish than IT both on and off the court.

When it mattered in a game, Lebron was the point forward, and Kyrie effectively played like a scoring SG.

Unless Lebron is traded to the Celtics, I don't see Kyrie's role being that similar with the Celtics.

I don't think that his career has been irrelevant. Quite the opposite- he has proven that he is a first tier scorer.

It seems that you think that this 25 year old's career is set in stone, and he is incapable of changing with a change of scenery. I don't understand this perspective.

This is the key issue. Kyrie's frustration with playing second fiddle to LeBron seemed more related to their personalities rather than usage. I think Kyrie will be fine sharing usage with Hayward, Horford, Brown.

He vacillates between being cringy, folky and weird, to arcane, insightful and honest. Key will be how him and Gordon get along personally. Zach Lowe has a great piece on the personality dynamics (but also the basketball dynamics, as always)

Actually, this thread can be closed just by reading the Zach Lowe article on ESPN about how Kyrie can grow professionally and personally. And that seems to be the interesting thing about this whole Kyrie thing - it's about more than basketball, it's about him as a person. That's probably a bad thing, but I don't care, I like good story lines in the C's, and if he gets happy, plays well and wins a chip, well...

[Tr1boy]

Kyrie Irving spent most of his microphone time at today's intro presser talking about HIS potential, HIS goals as a player, HIS desire to be in a situation conducive to HIS development as an elite player, how the trade request was not even about basketball but about HIS evolution and HIS own personal peace (whatever that is supposed to mean).

I have never liked this guy's vibe and I don't like it now. He sounds so focused on himself and  what the trade means for HIM. Where were the comments about "potential he saw in the team", "goals that the team could aspire to", "I want to fill whatever role Coach Stevens needs in order to get this team to a title", "Here are the ways I believe I can help this team win", heck, maybe even a comment about the opportunity to play for the greatest franchise in the NBA.

No - Irving just couldn't stop talking about HIMSELF.

Is Coach Stevens strong enough to require Irving to keep the ball moving on offense and not to dribble the shot clock away ? Is Coach Stevens strong enough to require this guy to play defense ? I have not seen much from Stevens to persuade me that he will stand up to a selfish player. He has had a hard enough time reigning in bad habits from players who care a great deal about team chemistry - Now, he has to deal with this headcase.

Something about this guy keeps reminding me of Sidney Wicks.

the 1st thing he did before talking about himself was , give a shout out to Crowder and IT4

are you serious?

[Donoghus]

Not really understanding how some rambling can get people so hot & bothered but apparently it does.

Also, please watch professional athletes press conferences from throughout the Big 4.  Irving did nothing to embarrass himself and presented himself a great deal better than what you come to see from a lot of those pressers.  Especially for a 25 year old.   

Can't believe this is getting harped on (although, this being Celticsblog, I can see it).

[gouki88]

Not really understanding how some rambling can get people so hot & bothered but apparently it does.

Also, please watch professional athletes press conferences from throughout the Big 4.  Irving did nothing to embarrass himself and presented himself a great deal better than what you come to see from a lot of those pressers.  Especially for a 25 year old.   

Can't believe this is getting harped on (although, this being Celticsblog, I can see it).

The things people criticise here never ceases to amaze me.

[Roy H.]

Rather him talk selfish then play selfish like IT

You're going to be in for a surprise.

What does that mean?

Do you have insider info on Kyrie Irving? What do you know that the rest of the basketball viewers around here don't know?

His past should have very little to do with his future, considering that he is coming to a team where he is expected to be a floor general and leader. This was not the expectation in Cleveland.

Lebron James has an effect on teams. He undoubtedly makes them better, but also changes the chemistry- for better and worse.

Is the entirety of his career to date just irrelevant?

To date, Kyrie has shown himself to be more selfish than IT both on and off the court.

Yet you're fan club president of the most selfish (and arguably least self aware) player in the league. Why does it bother you with Kyrie, yet not with other players?

If we traded an equal player who was fantastic at his role and the team's leader, plus a starter, plus a lottery pick for DMC, I wouldn't like that trade, either.

[Roy H.]

Nothing from that press conference indicated to me a level of selfishness that is troublesome.

Reporters were posing questions DIRECTED AT IRVING!  What was the guy supposed to do?

I thought he was extremely well spoken.  I particularly enjoyed how he started off things with his "real world" comments and his admiration for his new teammates & coaching staff. 

Saw zero red flags yesterday.

Extremely well-spoken?!  Here's a transcript of his first comment.  I didn't omit any words, but it reads as though I have.  He has an almost Trump-like quality to his speech, darting from one idea to another, omitting words seemingly at random, mixing idioms and inventing new uses for words.

Now, mind you, I don't give two $hit$ about the manner of his speech and I'm not playing grammar police.  He was hired to get buckets and he's one of the best in the world at his job. I'm sure he was nervous too.  But I would not say he's "extremely well-spoken".  I think he should stay away from the mic.    Here's the exact quote:

Q: You said that you want to maximize your potential.  Why do you feel that Boston could be that place for you?

First and foremost, before we get into that question, before we get dive into the importance of why we're all here, I just want appreciate everyone up here on this stage and the opportunity that's in front of us to go after something that's bigger than ourselves, but before we get to that I just want to say that sometimes we get lost into these two hoops and it's basketball that the most humane things that make us human we lose track of sometimes and I want to take a timeout to, you know, wish my well energy and heartfelt to Jae Crowder and his mother because that's a hard situation to go through, especially when he gets wrapped up in all this, as well as I.T.'s sister and as well as those affected in Charlottesville and those affected in Houston.  That is all reality-based and I live in that world.  In this basketball me perfecting my craft is very important to me, but outside of this game I live a very much real life and I appreciate the people around me as we as all the human beings I end up meeting and I just wanted to come out and say that -- that my appreciation for the world goes deeper than I think a lot of people realize and I take my respects for all those people as well as everyone affected by anything, you know.  We're all here with you and my prayers are with you so... now that I said that, now that I could officially move on to answering that. 

he's not extremely well spoken in the general sense
But compared to other nba players, he is extremely well spoken. Have you seen the mumblers in the league

He speaks into the microphone.  He's audible.  He enunciates and you can identify the words that come out of his mouth.  The words don't form coherent sentences.  Is that our standard for "extremely well-spoken"?

Are you using the little cut that you provided as evidence that he can't form coherent sentences? If so, yikes. Your deductive reasoning might need work. You can't use one snippet to say that he can't put together a coherent sentence. You should use the entirety of the presser. Most people here would disagree with your premise.

I thought that his answers, in general, were well thought out. At the same time, why does any of this matter? If he scores 30 ppg this year, do you think anyone will care about what he said in August?

I already said it doesn't matter.  Someone said he's well-spoken.  He isn't.  That simple.  I'd be thrilled to have him on the team if he was mute.

Huh? You are saying that you are not thrilled by having Kyrie unless he is incapable of speaking?Would that make him a good leader?

You guys are starting to grasp at straws to find negative things about Kyrie. It's ok to say you don't like him. It just feels weird to read such drivel.

Come on boys, let's step up the level of conversation around here! No one said you need to love Kyrie. I just want to read well reasoned arguments supporting this case.

I've said this a lot lately, but try reading that again. He wasn't criticizing Kyrie, but rather saying that he doesn't care what he says. 

Now, let the irony of your post regarding the "level of conversation"  sink in.

[Dino Pitino]

I think it's wrong to be concerned about Kyrie's attitude, his attitude is great, it seems. His eloquent incoherence is just a quirk. I am appreciative of his intention to be a reality-based human individual, lol. As someone said above, I'd be happy to have him even if he were mute.