Kyrie Irving says he never really wanted to join Boston Celtics, has regrets about his two-year stint
Kyrie Irving
A year after helping the Cleveland Cavaliers win their first NBA Championship in franchise history, Kyrie Irving demanded a trade, but not to the Boston Celtics, where he’d eventually end up. Irving spent two seasons in Boston but couldn’t help the Celtics get past the Eastern Conference Finals.
While he was named an All-Star each year, Irving was traded to Brooklyn after just 127 games. But now, as Irving goes toe-to-toe against his former team in the NBA Finals as a member of the Dallas Mavericks, he says he never really wanted to be on the Celtics in the first place.
Specifically, Irving states that he gave Cleveland/his agent a short list of teams he wanted to join, and Boston wasn’t near the top. They weren’t even on his radar.
“It wasn’t one of my options, it wasn’t like No. 1 on my list. So when the trade opportunity got approached to me, instead of going back and appreciating the Celtics’ history, I just came in with an open mind and just kind of like, alright, I’m just going to go with the flow into this. But I think that was the wrong approach.”
Kyrie Irving reflecting on his Boston Celtics tenure
Irving realizes he’s not the most popular former player to play his former team at TD Garden, and he knows he could have handled things differently. But now that he’s on the other side, instead of taking cheap shots or low blows at his opponent, he’s trying to pay the respect he wishes he showed during his time in Boston.
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