Kyrie Irving seemingly takes shot at past coaches while praising Brad Stevens

Kyrie Irving played for several coaches who did not last very long in Cleveland, and it does not sound like the star point guard thought very highly of any of them.

In a recent appearance on “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Irving had high praise for Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens. While there’s nothing wrong with a player showing support for his coach publicly, it’s hard not to feel like the comments included some subtle jabs at Irving’s former coaches.

“Brad is one of the most adaptable coaches I’ve ever been around. He’s highly intelligent about the game, about life. Talking to him is always awesome,” Irving said. “I just had dinner with him the other night. … Talking basketball with him, it’s such a relief to have a basketball mind like that who has an appreciation for the game. He doesn’t forget plays, knows when the shift in the game happens. We were going over things that could have been done differently this season, and it was a breath of fresh air talking to him.”

Since Irving described it as a “relief” that Stevens has a clue, it seems obvious that he was saying his past coaches didn’t. Those past coaches included Tyronn Lue, David Blatt, Mike Brown and Byron Scott.

While there has been some talk about Irving potentially eyeing another team when he becomes a free agent after next season, Celtics fans should consider it a great sign that he thinks that highly of Stevens.