Jaylen Brown On Kyrie’s Remark About Celtics Youngsters: “We Gotta Be More Accountable As A Group”

by Bill PiersaJanuary 16, 2019, 2:04 pmDaily Digest, News, Z-Home Slider >

It’s been a rough couple of days for the Boston Celtics. First, Kyrie Irving criticized his teammates to the media.

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In a press conference on Saturday, he said, “The young guys don’t know what it takes to be a championship-level team. What it takes every day. And if they think it is hard now, what do they think it will be like when we’re trying to get to the Finals?”

When the Celtics played the Nets, fans there seized on the issue. Whether it was because Danny Ainge stole four first-round picks from Brooklyn or due to the rumors that Irving was going to leave Boston after this season, supporters began to chant “Kyrie’s leaving!” during free throw attempts.

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Of course, in typical Kyrie fashion, the guard backtracked on his statements to the media. Before the Celtics’ 109-102 loss to Brooklyn, Kyrie told reporters, “Sometimes I may come off and say things; I’ll never question my teammates in public like that again, but I just want to win so bad.”

Now, it’s looking like Jaylen Brown took offense to Kyrie’s statements. Brown, who’s struggled all season, appeared to be tired of the Celtics ganging up on him in the locker room.

“We gotta be more accountable as a group,” Brown said, via CLNS. “It’s not one guy. It’s not the young guys’ or the old guys’ fault — it’s everybody’s fault. We all got to be accountable and turn this thing around. In stretches, we play good basketball and in stretches, we don’t. But we all got to have each other’s back.”

The 22-year-old forward has been floated in trade rumors throughout the season. After leading the team to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, Brown found himself riding the bench. This led to new struggles and what seems to be a complete lack of enthusiasm.

The current situation in Boston isn’t helping him find consistency alongside the deep rotation of wings the Celtics have. Pundits have wondered about Brown throughout the season and seem to question if he’d be better off in a new situation. Boston must solve its issues quickly. They take on the No. 1-seeded Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night in a game that has huge playoff ramifications.