As the 2019-20 season progresses, more players that took part in the Boston Celtics’ failures of 2019 will begin to pull back the curtain on what really transpired behind the scenes.
Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News recently spoke to Marcus Morris on locker room issues that plagued the Boston Celtics all throughout last season.
Morris described how the lack of a superstar will keep the New York Knicks from suffering as Boston did.
"“The teams are different. We don’t have that one guy where it’s like, okay, he’s first,” Morris said. “It’s a team thing. No knock on Ky, but obviously he’s a superstar, he’s first. Sometimes his emotions were put in front of the team. I think here, we’re all transparent with each other. We can all go up to each other and be honest with each other. That’s the biggest thing, when you can go out and speak to your brother.”"
Both Celtics players and coaches have eluded to a fresh start, or guys wanting to be there and having good attitudes all throughout the summer. This is the first time there has been a Kyrie Irving name drop by one of last years players that could be perceived as negative.
There are certainly more important things the Knicks should be worried about before locker room harmony — like winning –, but this positive outlook Morris has adopted can also be applied to this year’s Boston Celtics.
While there are certainly talented players on the roster with potential, none have achieved the status in the league that Irving has. Irving’s replacement, Kemba Walker is almost the same level talent as his predecessor but, with the Nets star’s championship experience coupled with his treasure trove of individual accolades, he seems to have the edge on the new Celtic point guard.
Walker’s recent comments suggest he’s ready to fade more into the background, allowing others on the team to share the spotlight that comes with being a star. Further hammering home that “good vibes” theme of the offseason.
A major issue Morris also shed light on was too many people wanting to “get theirs”, which was obvious from just watching the team play.
It’s something everyone should have moved past by now, but the basketball world will be waiting for the next nugget that is dropped depicting why things went south.
You can read the rest of Morris’ comments here.