Jaylen Brown Really, Truly Hated Playing With Kyrie Irving
During the season from hell which took place last year in Boston, Kyrie consistently put the burden of the blame on the younger guys, calling for more veteran help. Mostly everyone stayed quiet except for two people: Marcus Morris and Jaylen Brown. Marcus Morris doesn't give a fuck if you're young, old, his twin brother, a member of the Kansas football team, anybody, he'll tell you what's on his mind with zero fear of repercussion. Juice, on the other hand, just wasn't with the bullshit. He had to take a lesser role despite being a key cog to the Celtics run all the way to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals the season prior. He's spoken several times this year about not fully understanding why he of all people was asked to take a step back, especially when it feels counterintuitive of a top three pick entering his third season. So not only was he asked to sacrifice for the good of the team that was no good, he was also being blame for them not meeting expectations. Which is, yanno, idiotic. And clearly something that still bothers him. Especially when you take into consideration the leap he's taken this season with a larger role and more responsibility, it's more than fair to wonder if this all could have taken place last year had he been afforded the opportunity.
I don't think he hates Kyrie Irving, the human being. Kyrie's one of the most liked players in all of basketball by his peers by all accounts. But as a teammate? No thank you. Getting to play with Kemba this summer, while it didn't work out for Team USA in terms of claiming a meaningless trophy, appears to have been a huge plus in terms of trust for Jaylen. I can't speak for Tatum, but considering he's also in the midst of a career year on both ends of the court it'd be hard to discount this summer's importance for both of the Jays success in Boston. Kemba's been Kemba, one of the best three point shooters in the League, someone they trust down the stretch, and a complete breath of fresh air in the locker room. Meanwhile, Kyrie is comparing himself to Dr. J because their last names are kinda close?
And to MLK because... well, I don't know why he did that.
But as with all things in this world, Jaylen was correct last year and is correct now.