KYRIE IN HERE & NOW
CANTON — Kyrie Irving was very much an unburdened man as he took his turn in front of the tightly assembled crowd in the makeshift interview room at media day.
The weight of grand Celtic expectation rests more on his shoulders than some others, yet the deep-thinking point guard seemed less cluttered. It’s been just shy of 13 months since his trade here became official — 13 months and a world of difference.
“I’m not going through an emotional kind of roller coaster,” Irving said. “I don’t necessarily have to deal with questions about the trade anymore. Now it’s like the next question, ‘What’s free agency like?’ You get traded, and now it’s free agency. It’s just like, whoa.”
He has essentially answered the latter by speaking so much about the future here. Much can happen between now and next summer’s certain opt-out, but it makes clear financial sense for him to wait and do a new deal then. And, unless he’s talking about the shape of our planet, Kyrie Irving nearly always makes sense.
Getting back to the moment, he said simply, “I’m just appreciative of the opportunity to finally be comfortable. That’s the biggest thing. And I’m happy. It’s settling, man.”
And that comfort level with all things Celtic is growing. Irving spent some offseason time in Seattle, participating in pickup games set up by Jamal Crawford — and spending a few moments with a most special guest.
“I came in the gym and I was just warming up, and you just see Bill Russell walk through the door for a regular pickup game,” Irving said. “It was just like, whoa, wow. You’re talking about history here, man.”
He was thinking about history as he took a pick to his grown-out hair before posing with the legend.
“I was trying to look like I was back in the ’70s,” Irving said with a smile. “To take a picture next to Bill was awesome. It was fun.
“He’s as cultured as they come, as great of a personality, as knowledgeable, and he’s still doing it and showing up and supporting the Boston Celtics. He’s a Celtic for life, and I wouldn’t be able to talk about the Celtic tradition without Bill Russell doing what he did and laying down a great foundation. So that was awesome in itself. That opportunity, I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
The knee issues that ended Irving’s season in March have both steeled and calmed him. He’s healthy now, and “a lot more maniacal about the game. You’re grateful for the opportunity to play the game that you love. You start realizing that you have to do a lot more of the little things than you did before — in the weight room, in your diet and taking care of your mind and your spirit.
“As long as your mind and body are on the same accord, you’re pretty solid, and last year it wasn’t. You know, it wasn’t at all. I had one of the best statistical seasons of my career, and it was crazy how I did it because of the amount of distractions that were going on outside of it. You realize that, ‘OK, what if I added a little happiness to playing basketball, instead of worrying about what’s going on outside of this? Maybe we’ll see what that looks like.’
“So that’s a scary sight, and I can’t wait. So I’m looking forward to playing out there in front of the Boston fans again and being out there in front of the league.”
Before then and even after he gets that opportunity, there is work to be done. This is Kyrie Irving’s team, but he knows it won’t be its best version unless he properly shares more than the ball. It’s about sharing responsibility and ownership.
“Well, part of leadership is empowerment — really realizing how great some of these guys are and the potential of them,” Irving said. “I mean, it’s really special to have young guys that they work hard, they want it, they have vision, they have drive, they have commitment, they’ve sacrificed. They want to learn how to win, and for the most part they know how to win because they’ve been taught by great leaders that we have with Brad (Stevens) and Danny (Ainge) and the organization in general. You know, the history and the tradition of what being a Boston Celtic is and what it means. … No matter what the circumstances, we all have each other’s back, and it’s good to be a part of that.”
His role is better defined within himself.
“I’m just looking forward to helping build a culture, a championship environment here,” he said. “And that takes a lot of sacrifice and commitment, and as a leader of the team it falls on my shoulders to really take responsibility for what’s going on and how we interact with one another and how we are as teammates and how does that translate to being better at the game.”
Later, as he prepared to continue through the car wash of public-service announcements, video board segments, pictures and media partner interviews, Kyrie Irving unburdened himself of another thought:
“You just think about now and you think about the future, and it’s like, man, this is something special to be a part of.”
Reading those lines and between them, he may have just set a record for most questions answered by one compound sentence.