Kyrie Irving got his wish, and now he’s happy.
Nay, thrilled.
The four-time All-Star requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers in late July, and roughly one month later, he’s headed to the Boston Celtics, as first reported by The Vertical’s Shams Charania, in exchange for Jae Crowder, Isaiah Thomas, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round pick. And according to ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Irving is pretty ecstatic about the outcome:
Irving thrilled w/ joining Celtics and they'll have great chance to eventually re-sign him. Boston made deal with strong belief he'll stay.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 23, 2017
Indeed, Irving could not have asked for a better end result if he really wanted out of Cleveland. He went from making NBA Finals runs on an annual basis to joining the Eastern Conference’s foremost threat to the Cavaliers’ throne. The drop-off exists, but it’s not nearly as stark as it could have been if he were traded to, say, the Phoenix Suns or New York Knicks.
Granted, the Celtics don’t really guarantee Irving a role as the alpha. Both Gordon Hayward and Al Horford are arguably better players. But Irving won’t cede touches or status to either. Their on- and off-court personas aren’t domineering. They are, for lack of better phrasing, complementary stars. Irving will get plenty of chances to handle the ball as the No. 1 option, and head coach Brad Stevens is resourceful enough to use him in bench-heavy lineups that lean on the 25-year-old’s isolation chops.
Did the Celtics overpay? Without question. Given what Kyrie was looking for, though, they offer him the best of both worlds—the chance to compete without being lost in LeBron James’ shadow.
