Kyrie Irving seems to be having a difficult time handling adversity in his second season with the Boston Celtics, and that has shown in his dealings with the media in recent weeks. On Monday, Irving tried to explain why he has been so bothered.
The Celtics have lost five of their past six games, and Irving was extremely short with reporters after the latest. Why? He’s tired of the media questioning the body of work of some of the game’s best players, such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and himself.
Kyrie Irving on the reason behind his recent surly mood. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/jrZSIXbBP2
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) March 4, 2019
Irving said NBA players are generally unhappier nowadays because of the “scrutiny and exploitation that we go through.” While he might have a point, there are plenty of top players in the league who don’t complain about it on a regular basis the way Irving has.
The main reason Irving asked the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade him was that he was tired of playing second fiddle to LeBron, but he has not shown great leadership qualities off the court this season. It has gotten to the point where he’s not even trying to hide the fact that he can’t stand the media, and some of those same emotions have reportedly spilled over into the locker room. A deep postseason run could change things in a hurry, but as of now it is seeming increasingly likely that Irving will leave Boston this summer.
