Kyrie Irving is philosophizing again.
Ugh.
On a recent Twitch stream, the mercurial point guard said the Nets will actually benefit from getting swept by the Celtics in the first round of last season's NBA playoffs.
"We got 4-0'd my G, we got 4-0'd," said Irving. "It was meant to happen like that. Motivation, bro. We needed that humbling experience, especially going against the Celtics. It was already built to be that matchup. We're going to see them again, we're going to have to. They're going to be where they're going to be."
In isolation, Irving's comments aren't very extraordinary. It's common for athletes to try and put positive spins on bad situations.
But of course, it's hard to take Irving at face value, because he tried to force his way out of Brooklyn earlier this offseason. He only opted into the final year of his deal with the Nets after realizing there were few suitors for him on the open market.
The Celtics' sweep of Brooklyn also seemingly spurred Kevin Durant to demand a trade. The Nets announced last month they've reached an agreement with the 11-time All-Star.
Irving played decently against the Celtics, averaging 21.3 points per game during the abbreviated series. He broke out for 39 points at the Garden in Game 1, but his most memorable moment came when he flipped off Celtics fans.
Or when he allowed Jayson Tatum to drive right by him for the game-winning layup. Either one.
Irving also said he's proud of his former teammates for reaching the Finals.
"Those youngins over there in Boston, bro, I got to see them grow up," he said. "So to see them do what they did last year on the Finals stage, making it that far, I'm glad they had to go through us."
It wasn't a very hard feat to accomplish.
