In the year-plus since Kyrie Irving left the Celtics for the Nets, Boston’s star forward Jayson Tatum has had nothing but positive things to say about Brooklyn’s star point guard.
So when ESPN’s Rachel Nichols reported before Game 6 of the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals that Tatum had been receiving advice from Irving throughout the NBA’s restart of the 2019-20 inside the Disney bubble, it shouldn’t have been earth-shattering news.
But of course, nothing involving Irving can ever be a small story.
So when Danny Ainge appeared on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich” on Thursday, the Celtics President of Basketball Operations was asked if he’s “afraid Tatum’s going to get all weird like Kyrie ’cause they’re hanging out? Gonna become all weirdo?”
“I don’t think Kyrie’s ‘all weirdo,'” Ainge said. “But do think that — I’m not worried at all about Jayson having a relationship with Kyrie.”
When asked if the relationship makes him nervous in any way, Ainge replied:
Not at all because I know the world we live in. I see it all the time. These guys have relationships. And, by the way, if you don’t create a situation where players want to stay and be, then you’re not doing your job either.