NBA news: Kyrie Irving slammed after 'vet' comments amidst Carmelo Anthony talks
KYRIE IRVING has been criticised after claiming he wants a more experienced team-mate to help him guide the Boston Celtics to glory.
Boston Celtics need to learn to play together says pundit
Irving made the comments after the Celtics suffered defeat against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Celtics were one of the favoured teams for the NBA Eastern Conference after LeBron made his summer move to the West.
After a mixed start, they currently find themselves 7-6, and behind teams in the conference that many feel they should be blowing away.
Before the season started, ESPN pundit Stephen A Smith said if they do not reach the NBA finals, the season would be a failure.
And Irving claimed he wants a veteran player to join the young roster to help that happen.
Speaking to reporters after the game against Portland, Irving claimed 'it would be nice' to have more help on the team.
"Right now I think it would be nice if we had someone that was a 15-year vet, a 14-year vet that could kind of help us race along the regular season and understand it’s a long marathon rather than just a full-on sprint," he said.
However, not everyone believes Irving has the right to make those statements.
Many have cited the fact that Irving left James and the Cleveland Cavaliers as he wanted to be the leader of a new franchise.
Fox Sports pundit Shannon Sharpe tweeted at Irving to let him know his feelings.
"Bron [LeBron James] says: kick rocks Kyrie. You had that and wanted to lead your own team, lead your team and hush" he tweeted.
"WTF is he talking about? He wanted to lead a team, lead the team.
"I hate the narrative that Kyrie won anything b4 Bron came bck. Who do you blame for cavs getting #1 overall picks (Bennett, Wiggins) in the Kyrie era?
"Philly, Toronto, Bucks don’t have 14-15 yr vets. I don’t want excuses, I want results."
The Celtics are one of the teams rumoured to be interested in Carmelo Anthony.
The ten-time NBA All-Star is set to be waived by the Houston Rockets, and is reportedly putting the feelers out for a new team to join.