The Boston Celtics’ locker room drama was an open secret last season, and new Boston center Enes Kanter believes that the lack of chemistry was palpable, even for opposing teams.
In an interview on “First Things First”, when asked if there was “relief” that Kyrie Irving was no longer on the Celtics, Kanter noted there was a “negative energy” in Boston when he played there with Portland. It’s worth noting that the Blazers beat the Celtics in that matchup, 97-92.
Kanter further went on to say that he would take Kemba Walker over Irving any day, a lovely if meaningless sentiment about his new teammate. Hilariously, Walker was tasked with talking to Kanter to seal the deal at the start of free agency but used Danny Ainge’s phone; Kanter believes it’s because Walker was wary of giving him his number.
Kanter isn’t alone in identifying something amok in Boston last year, but it may not be the brightest idea to tie that directly to Irving. Irving and the Nets will play the Celtics four times in the upcoming season, and the point guard presumably won’t lack for any motivation in trying to defeat, and potentially embarrass, his former team. As one of the weaker defensive centers, Kanter will already have a hard enough time trying to contain Irving without antagonizing him off the court.
Then again, it’s not like Kanter is breaking new ground. Instead, he’s just repeating well-worn statements about how Boston’s season fell apart in 2018-19 and suggesting that his current squad can clear the air and hopefully overachieve in this upcoming year. Kanter is never shy about expressing his opinions, but this is far from one of his hotter takes.
