VIDEO: Terry Rozier Doesn't Really Want to Play With the Same Celtics Again

Terry Rozier went on First Take today and Stephen A. Smith asked him if he would want to play with the same teammates again next year. Rozier laughed but answered matter-of-factly that “I might have to go.”

It doesn’t take much to read between the lines that Rozier does not want to play on the same team as Kyrie Irving again. While this may or may not also be for interpersonal reasons, Rozier is a competitor and undoubtedly wants to play more minutes.

In last season’s playoffs, Rozier averaged more than twice as many minutes — 36.6 vs. 18.0 — as he did in this postseason. In the regular season, Rozier averaged three less minutes per game this season than last, which doesn’t initially quite sound like a big deal but he’s at a point in his career where he wants to be in an ascendant role, not sacrificing minutes.

Rozier is signed through next season — after which he becomes a restricted free agent — so he doesn’t have so much say in the matter other than potentially demanding a trade, but it’s easy to see for myriad reasons why he wouldn’t want to back up Kyrie Irving anymore.