Per the Boston Herald‘s Mark Murphy, there are at least one (anonymous and prominent) NBA agent who believes that Boston Celtics president and general manager Danny Ainge’s plan to build a championship-contender has backfired on the longtime NBA executive.

Citing the Celtics’ play without the sensational Kyrie Irving on the floor, the agent told the Boston Herald “[Boston] actually plays better or more together without Kyrie…too many players, too many guys who are trying to emerge all at once.”

“The crazy thing is that this team actually plays better or more together without Kyrie,” said the agent. “This kind of backfired on Danny. Too many players, too many guys who are trying to emerge all at once.”

Whoever the agent is, he raised a valid point in that the Celtics seem to have a number of players who aren’t just trying to progress as players but are actively trying to improve their market value or reputation with their on-court production.

Forward Marcus Morris and point guards Terry Rozier and Irving will all be free agents in the offseason; though Irving’s market value is set at a max contract level, Morris and Rozier are undoubtedly hoping that they play well enough to maximize their earning power this summer. Especially with Morris in the midst of a career season and Rozier set to be a restricted free agent.

Meanwhile, young players in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are trying to prove that they’re All-Star caliber players and forward Gordon Hayward is simply trying to reestablish himself as a force in the league, period.

There’s quite the spectrum of individual agendas for the Celtics and, ideally, their individual desires would be fulfilled while the team progressed as championship-contenders. However, what seems to have happened is that aside from the strains of Boston being far from the powerhouse they were projected to be in the summer, players’ individual goals have started to cause additional frustration.

Brown obviously didn’t want to be demoted from the starting lineup but because he’s a player who’s at his best with the ball in his hands and far more of a scorer than a facilitator at this point in his career, the Celtics opted to start defensive-minded shooting guard Marcus Smart. Further, with players like Brown seemingly being targeted by teammates, it begs the question of if the frustrations this season could lead him to want to play for a different franchise.

Conversely, while Hayward was the first to suggest he should come off the bench for Boston and promoting Morris into the starting lineup could be seen as a stop-gap solution for the Celtics, the Indiana native’s incremental progress from his leg injury could be a bit of concern. As well as the three years and $97 still remaining on his contract and the fact that it’s going to be hard for Boston to move him, should they ever have a desire too.

Not to be forgotten is the debate surrounding Irving’s future with the Celtics.

Though he’s reveled in the challenge of being a leader, he’s backed away from his full-blown commitment to re-signing with Boston. The rumor mill may be full of plenty of falsities but it does seem like a distinct possibility that the team who trades for New Orleans Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis will have the best chance of acquiring Irving’s services in the summertime.

Regardless of what people believe, there’s no doubt that this situation has become far more complex than people imagined following the 2018 Eastern Conference Playoffs. There were sure to be growing pains as the team learned the sacrifices that would be necessary for the team to play to their potential.

However, it’s nearly a chaotic situation in Boston nowadays. That was never expected.