We've yet to hear from Kyrie Irving after his decision to leave the Boston Celtics after two seasons for the Brooklyn Nets, but we're starting to gain perspective from the Celtics side of it all.
While Boston fans may want as much ant-Kyrie talk as possible, his former teammates are not holding his decision against him. Marcus Smart defended Irving on ESPN's The Jump earlier this week, calling him a "great teammate" and a generally "misunderstood" person.
On Thursday after promoting his new cologne with Abercrombie and Fitch, Jayson Tatum told Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe how he didn't want to see him leave, but still considers Irving "like family."
But I’m all for guys doing what’s best for them. It doesn’t change the dynamic of our friendship... We still keep in touch. That’s like family. We talk often. Nothing in particular, nothing specific about last season, just friend talk.
Tatum helped the Celtics secure an All-NBA guard to replace the departed Irving. Kemba Walker said at his introductory press conference that Tatum had a lot to do with him choosing Boston.
While getting Walker will help the Celtics stay close to the Sixers and Bucks in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, Tatum will have to take the next step in his development if Boston is going to play anywhere near their ceiling this season. Tatum told Himmelsbach how he's ready to make that jump.
Boston Celtics
I’m really looking to take a bigger jump. Be more vocal, be more of a leader. Just be a better version of myself.
The Celtics clearly believe Tatum will turn into a star sometime soon since they reportedly had an "insane" asking price for Tatum when teams tried to deal for him. With Irving and Horford gone to East rivals, Tatum can't be the "future star" everyone thought he could be during his first two years in the NBA. He'll have to be a flat out star.
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