There’s been a lot of talk in recent days about Kyrie Irving‘s tenure in Boston, as it pertains to the relationship he has with the younger players on the team. It’s been rumored that guys bristled at Irving’s penchant for treating them like little brothers and that there were stretches where communication was virtually non-existent.
What’s unknown is whether anyone was willing to challenge Irving on his interpersonal approach to this teammates, or any number of other potentially touchy subjects. Like, for example, his ongoing crusade against widely-accepted scientific facts. Over the past few years, Irving has repeatedly questioned, with relative impunity, whether the Earth is flat, with few in the NBA community willing to push back against his outlandish claims.
But if he happens to re-sign with Boston this summer in free agency, that dynamic might very well change, as evidenced by this interview with Celtics draftee Grant Williams, who didn’t hesitate to debunk Irving’s ideas when speaking to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
"Kyrie's Earth-is-flat theory is just scientifically not true." – new #Celtic @Grant2Will 😏 pic.twitter.com/H5PT2NZFRb
— Stadium (@Stadium) June 21, 2019
“Kyrie’s Earth-is-flat theory is just scientifically not true,” Williams said. “That’s the one thing I can debunk, if we’re being pretty honest. It’s just not true at all.”
If that was a refreshing take on this oddly widespread topic of discussion around the league, then you’re not alone, but don’t just chalk this up to a young man’s naive willingness to speak his mind. Williams’ mother was one of the first black engineers at NASA and has worked at the space program for more than 25 years.
It also might be tempting to see this as just the latest indication that Irving is out the door, but that’s an outcome we’ll have to wait to find out until the free agency moratorium begins on June 30.
