The trade between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers was mercifully finalized on Wednesday night. The transaction sends Kyrie Irving to Boston for a package including Isaiah Thomas.
Irving had previously requested a trade from the Cavs with reported reasons that included wanting to be out of LeBron James’ shadow in Cleveland. He was reportedly gearing up to skip training camp had he not been traded before then. Irving will now join Gordon Hayward as the co-stars of one of the most storied franchises in the NBA.
It appears as though the point guard is ready for that challenge. According to The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn, the former Duke Blue Devil is more than happy about the move:
Have been told that Kyrie is "ecstatic" about the trade, looking forward to playing for Brad Stevens and understand the #Celtics tradition.
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) August 31, 2017
Irving’s excitement in joining the Celtics should yield a promising future for Boston. He is set to be a free agent in 2019 at which point the Celtics will likely attempt to retain him on a max contract.
Nevertheless, there is plenty of time before we reach that point. For now, the Celtics will be hoping that Irving is enough of an upgrade over Thomas to help them reach the NBA Finals this year.
