While Kyrie Irving and LeBron James share a championship and countless memories of playoff basketball, they are also brothers in captaining teams two of the league’s most storied franchises during disappointing seasons.
And although signs are pointing to Irving meeting up with Kevin Durant in New York, LeBron James is doing what he can to keep tabs on Irving.
According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, the Celtics star has reportedly grown distant and disengaged from his Celtics teammates.
Sources around the team told me that Irving’s persona has changed, too: He’s become disengaged and detached from those around the team. There is talk that Irving’s friendships on the team start and end with Tatum, with whom he shares an agent. Two sources peg Irving’s change in demeanor to early February, around the time he was asked about the possibility of joining the New York Knicks next season. That’s when Irving infamously said he’d make the best decision for his family and that he didn’t “owe anybody shit.” This induced panic among Boston fans. After all, it was a much different tune than the one Irving was singing in October 2018, when he told a gathering of Celtics season-ticket holders that he intended to re-sign with the team (multiple sources say that same commitment was expressed to his teammates).
The Ringer’s extensive report on what’s wrong with the Celtics was published only a few hours after LeBron James continued to praise Irving on his twitter page.
A reunion between James and Irving doesn’t appear all that likely, considering the way things ended last time. Throw in the fact that grew up and played his high school basketball in nearby New Jersey, as well as Durant’s reported interest in the New York franchise, they seem like a fit for each other.
And yet, if we’ve learned anything about the NBA is that even the best laid plans never come to pass. James’ first season in Los Angeles is enough proof of that. So LeBron has every reason to keep the communication lines open with Irving, just in case his former co-worker wants to try it again under the palm trees.
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