When the trade between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers finally went through, two explosive point guards were swapped in Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas. While there were other pieces involved, Thomas and Irving provided as the two high-scoring centerpieces to what could be the biggest deal of the offseason.
There’s no doubt Irving and Thomas are a couple of the most dangerous offensive weapons the NBA has to offer scoring-wise, but Celtics President Danny Ainge expects more than just scoring out of his franchise’s new backbone. When asked about the recent trade and why he gave up what he gave up for Irving, Ainge says he sees the 25-year-old developing into an improved defender and especially a better distributor now out of the shadow of LeBron James. Following from the Celtics official Twitter account:
Danny Ainge calls Kyrie Irving “special” and explains his vision of the blockbuster trade that acquired the All-Star point guard. pic.twitter.com/xlwsKvBgNl
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) September 5, 2017
With James serving as the man who does it all for his team just as he has since his career started, Kyrie Irving got limited chances to serve as the primary ball handler for the Cavs. The offense operated largely through James for obvious reasons but now, Irving will have a chance to run his own show in Boston alongside Gordon Hayward.
With those additional responsibilities, Ainge expects Irving to show off his ‘fantastic’ passing prowess. LeBron is already one of the most gifted distributors in the NBA and his generational type vision facilitated a high-powered Cavs offense, making passing an afterthought for the scoring machine that is Kyrie.
Though the Duke product could see a slight uptick in his assist numbers this year, expect Irving’s scoring abilities to remain his calling card and for the Celtics to operate as one of the more dangerous offensive forces because of that.
