Kyrie Irving: Playing for Mike Brown a ‘learning experience’

Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving said Wednesday he has regrets about his relationship with former Cleveland coach Mike Brown, who will now face him in the NBA Finals as the interim head coach of the Golden State Warriors.

“It was a learning experience, to say the least,” Irving said. “I kind of regret being part of that, because he was just trying to teach me a lot of things that I didn’t necessarily understand as a 21-year-old in the NBA.”

Brown coached Irving for one season, in 2013-14, and the two had a rocky relationship as Brown pressed Irving to make changes to his game. At one point in that season, Brown advocated that Irving be traded.

At the end of that season, Brown was fired, in part because the franchise was concerned about Irving’s willingness to extend his contract with Brown as the coach. After Brown was replaced by David Blatt, Irving agreed to a five-year, $80 million extension.

Source: Brian Windhorst of ESPN