Kyrie Irving may have left a bitter taste in the mouths of Celtics fans when he spurred the team in free agency three years ago and signed with the Nets.
But for Jaylen Brown, that was a positive turning point for their relationship.
In a recent interview with NBC Sports Boston, Brown talked about the evolution of their friendship. "Off the court, me and Kyrie might have started off with a lot of bumps in the road," Brown said. "But as of lately, Kyrie is somebody that I've connected with. Somebody that I call a friend, a brother. Somebody that calls me to pick my brain at this point."
Irving's openness stands in contrast to his behavior in the waning days of his Celtics career. The star and enigmatic guard was often dismissive of his younger teammates, including Jayson Tatum and Brown.
"It wasn't like that when we played together. We bumped heads a lot," Brown said. "But it's funny now in hindsight. Kyrie, he talks to me, hits me up all the time and our relationship has grown a lot since then."
Earlier this week, Tatum talked about how Irving says he "would've done things differently" during his time with the Celtics.
Last year, Tatum offered little resistance when the Nets stomped the Celtics in the first round, and Irving proceeded to step on "Lucky." It promises to be a different story this season, despite their longstanding friendship.
