Kyrie Irving was committed to the Cleveland Cavaliers for six years but sent in a trade request after losing in the 2017 Finals. It drew criticism because the Cavs were ready to run it back and compete for another title.
He got traded to the Boston Celtics, where he was the clear-cut star. While most people did not expect it to happen, Kevin Durant felt he knew that would transpire based on the circumstances surrounding the dynamic with LeBron James .
“When you’re around LeBron James, there’s so much that comes with that. Outside distractions and conversations and just noise that just comes around just from being around LeBron James,” Durant said to The Ringer in 2017. “Kyrie was at the point, like, ‘All right, we lost the championship, this whole season’s gonna be about if LeBron’s gonna leave or not. I’m ready for a new challenge.’ It just felt like he wanted a situation where he would just be free from all of that and just play.”
Kyrie became the primary star for Boston
After getting traded from the Cavs, Irving became the star player for the Celtics because former MVP candidate Isaiah Thomas went the other way to Cleveland. It was a successful run for Irving in Boston because he finally had a good team as a leader, away from LeBron.
Boston was coming off a 53-29 record in the 2016/17 season. The team was stable, but they were such a good team because Isaiah was at the forefront as the MVP candidate. However, the Celtics front office believed trading him away for Kyrie would have been better.
It was a good trade, considering IT never recovered and returned to his superstar form. On the other hand, Kyrie had a productive first year with the Celtics, averaging 24.4 points and 5.1 assists to lead the team. It was one of the deepest teams in the league, with eight players scoring in double digits.
Irving was also a valuable mentor to the rest of the team, especially to promising youngsters Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Kyrie found his calling, playing as the team’s cornerstone, which was what KD pointed out. However, another project enticed him enough to leave in 2019. Funnily enough, as we all know, it was with Durant.
Kyrie and KD were a natural fit with each other
Kevin and Kyrie are similar because of how they approach playing basketball, and you can immediately tell they are just natural hoopers. They have different interests off the court but love talking hoops and playing the game. This natural dynamic helped the Brooklyn Nets sign them in the summer of 2019, creating a formidable duo for the foreseeable future.
Unfortunately, the hype for this dynamic duo was short-lived because their stint in Brooklyn was overshadowed by off-the-court problems and injuries. They had phenomenal regular season stints, but other issues robbed the fans and the Nets franchise of success and took them from favorites to disappointments. They even had James Harden on the team to form a big three, but it did not work out for them, an opportunity that Kyrie is saddened about .
Thankfully, Kyrie seems at peace playing for the Dallas Mavericks. He is fresh off an NBA Finals appearance alongside Luka Doncic, another superstar with a natural chemistry with Uncle Drew. KD is doing his own thing in Phoenix, but he still has a good relationship with Kyrie despite their short-lived time together as teammates.
Related: "Why would I have to?" - Kyrie Irving on why he didn't tell LeBron James his trade request from the Cleveland Cavaliers
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