The Boston Celtics and Kyrie Irving have moved on from one another, but Jaylen Brown hasn't forgotten.
The 2018-19 Celtics were expected to be a shoe-in for the NBA Finals. They were expected to be the powerhouse of the Eastern Conference, the East's version of the Golden State Warriors. However, they were up-and-down all season long and stumbled into the playoffs as the fourth seed.
While they dispatched a Victor Oladipo-less Indiana Pacers squad in a sweep in the first round, they were embarrassed in a five-game demolition in a semifinals series with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Irving received the brunt of the blame as his leadership qualities were questioned and he was even involved in a back-and-forth squabble with Brown regarding why the team had struggled at the midseason point. While it appeared at the time Brown and Irving were far from being on the same page, that was actually far from the truth.
Article Continues BelowIn a recent interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Heavy, Brown actually deflected blame away from Irving and placed it instead on the Celtics' front office, the coaches and the players.
“Everybody is going to have their own opinion. I don’t think Kyrie cares too much, maybe he does, and maybe he [Kyrie] shouldn’t care as much as he does. He’s Kyrie Irving at the end of the day … nobody is perfect. Kyrie got a lot of the blame and was undeserving. It wasn’t his fault that certain guys couldn’t take a step back. It wasn’t his fault. That was the front office and the coach’s fault. He gets a lot of that blame because he was the star. But a lot of that should be on the organization and coaching staff. It’s in the past. Kyrie is in a better place in Brooklyn, somewhere his roots are. He’ll be fine.”
The Celtics have since moved on and appear better without Irving at 17-7 (70.7 winning percentage) in the early stages of the season. Irving is also currently leading a Nets squad that appears primed for a second consecutive postseason appearance at 14-12.
With that said, one thing is for certain — not all of the blame should be on Irving's shoulders for Boston's lackluster season last year.