The Kyrie Irving era in Boston is expected to come to an official end once free agency begins on June 30.
Irving's probable destination is the Nets, but Brooklyn apparently has reservations about signing the six-time All-Star guard to be the team's centerpiece. While that makes Irving's next move a bit less predictable, a return to the Celtics remains unlikely.
The reasoning for that is simple: Irving just didn't like all that came with being in Boston. ESPN's Jackie MacMullan explained Irving's disdain for the city on the "Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective" podcast.
"Kyrie Irving didn't like Boston," MacMullan said. "I've been told this by many people. He didn't like living in Boston. He just didn't. By the end, he had issues with Brad [Stevens]. By the end, he had issues with Danny [Ainge]. By the end, he had issues with pretty much all of us."
Stevens and Ainge aren't the only members of the Celtics organization Irving reportedly had issues with. Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated said Wednesday he had poor relationships with teammates Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier as well.
In addition, MacMullan speculates Irving not liking Boston may have played a role in his close friend, Anthony Davis, not wanting to join the Celtics.
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With all of that drama (hopefully) in the rearview mirror, the C's appear to be heading into the 2019-20 campaign with a new-look roster. After the NBA Draft, Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck called it "re-tooling."
Whatever you want to call it, Celtics fans will just hope the team's new faces will appreciate Boston more than Irving did.
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