Kyrie Irving was tired of being teammates with LeBron James. Now he has to figure out how to beat him.
Cleveland’s All-Star guard, who asked owner Dan Gilbert to trade him earlier this summer, on Tuesday was dealt to the Boston Celtics for fellow All-Star Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets’ unprotected first-round draft pick for next year.
“It’s extremely rare to trade for a 25-year-old player that’s done what he’s done, the offensive weapon that he is,” Celtics president Danny Ainge said. “We feel like his best basketball is still ahead of him.”
Photo: AP
“We have a player that’s proven to be a sure thing,” Ainge said. “We know how unpredictable the draft can be. You do pay a heavy price for a player of that age and that caliber.”
Irving, whose late three-pointer helped Cleveland win the NBA championship last year — the city’s first title since 1964 — is on his way to Boston, where he is to join a Celtics team who lost to the Cavs in last season’s conference finals.
As fate would have it, the Cavs are to host the Celtics in their season opener on Oct. 17.
“Of course we know who our competition is and we know who are biggest threats are each year, but we feel like this is a trade that can make us better, and that’s why we did it,” Ainge said.
The blockbuster deal caps a wild summer for the Cavs, who lost their title defense in five games to the Golden State Warriors in June. Since then, general manager David Griffin left, the club failed to convince Chauncey Billups to join its front office and James has played with fans’ emotions with veiled postings on social media about his future.
Cleveland might have salvaged their off-season.
“This trade needed to include both players and assets that we felt strongly could help us continue to compete for championships and we believe it does,” new general manager Koby Altman said.
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