ESPN – “It’s been a trying year for us,” Irving told Nichols. “We basically have a bunch of young men in our locker room who feel like they’re capable of doing a lot more than they’re doing. And that’s OK, but there’s a maturing that you have to have. There’s a professionalism that you have to showcase every single day, and that’s what the great ones do.

“I initially didn’t play the minutes I wanted to play. I’m 26 years old, heading into my prime, like, why do I have to wait for anybody? [Terry Rozier] played in the playoffs. He did extremely well. Coming back, that’s a natural competition that me and him have.

“It is what it is. No one wants to say it, but I will. You know, [Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum], all these guys, it’s part of their growth. When you have winning in mind, you’ve gotta understand that. You gotta do what it takes, but you gotta understand your teammates.”

I fully understand I’m probably just listening to too much talk radio, but the quotes that have come out of this Kyrie Rachel Nichols interview where he’s constantly referring to the “young men” on the Celtics is becoming a bit much for me.

Kyrie is 26.

He’d be on the same high school varsity team with a lot of these dudes. Terry Rozier is 24, Jaylen Brown is 22. Tatum is a bit younger at 20, but the point remains. I was a moron at 26 and I cringe at the idea of talking down to slightly younger co-workers. Maybe its because as a millennial I am hyper aware of that disrespect from older bosses and baby boomers who can’t open a PDF.

I think Kyrie just needs to practice a bit more self awareness. You’re not that much older than these “young guys” that you are constantly shitting on in interviews. Jaylen Brown was just named the Vice President of the NBA Players Association for crying out loud. Maybe its not a maturity issue with the slightly younger players on the Celtics roster?