After the Boston Celtics fell to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, point guard Kyrie Irving made headlines when he suggested that the team add a veteran to help out - specifically a guy who has played 14 or 15 years.

With the Houston Rockets seemingly on the verge of cutting loose Carmelo Anthony, many interpreted Irving's comments as a plead for Celtics GM Danny Ainge to add the 34-year-old future Hall of Famer.

But Irving clarified his comments and suggested that he wasn't trying to question Boston's lack of leadership - nor criticize any specific player on the roster.

"I was speaking in general about where we are as a team," Irving said,via Jay King of The Athletic. "We are all relatively young. There is a lot of movement going on in the league. I wasn’t speaking to anyone specific, maybe a vet that’s been through a championship run that is able to be patient with this team."

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Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Irving later noted that the team already has an established veteran in Al Horford, who's now in his 12th NBA season. But with Irving just 26, Jayson Tatum 20 and Jaylen Brown 22, maybe the Celtic would benefit from adding another veteran to help this team in its championship quest.

The Celtics sit at a mere 8-6 on the season - certainly not good enough for a team that was the consensus pick to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2019 NBA Finals. The Celtics have been sluggish everywhere offensively, so it was understandable when Irving initially said the team could use another veteran.

What This Means

Irving is one of the most outspoken players in the NBA, and he often just says things in the heat of the moment. The Celtics were coming off a frustrating 1-4 road trip, so it was easy to understand where he was coming from about the team needing another player to help out.

The Celtics rebounded nicely on Wednesday with a 111-82 home win over the Chicago Bulls. They'll welcome the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors on Friday night, followed by a home tilt with the Utah Jazz on Saturday.

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