Kyrie Irving's odd relationship with the Boston Celtics can perhaps be traced back to his rapport with president Danny Ainge, one that “soured” early through the 2018-19 season.

ESPN's Jackie MacMullan gave a bit of insight in the timing of Irving's unhappiness.

“I don’t know why. But I was hearing by December he’s frustrated with Danny,” MacMullan said on the latest episode of The Michael Holley Podcast. “I don’t know what it is, I still don’t know the answer. Kyrie has never told me.”

But MacMullan did take a crack at guessing the chain of events.

“It started there, and then he starts second-guessing the coach — again, passive-aggressive,” she said. “I don’t think he disliked Brad Stevens at all, I just think he lost faith in him. And I think he lost faith in everybody there.”

Irving went from being the center of rumors of a potential exit to suddenly committing full force to the team, to then decommitting and telling reporters to “ask me on July 1” — a time which would be too late, as he didn't take long to agree to sign with the Brooklyn Nets hours before the calendar page was flipped.

Stevens visibly molded his system around Irving to appease him and yield the most out of his abilities, but that change involved tweaking everything else and making a whole lot of players unhappy in the process.

The Celtics not only lost Irving, but also Al Horford, Terry Rozier, and Marcus Morris in free agency — a wave of mutilation that was partly necessary to give Ainge and company a fresh slate.