Kyrie Irving On Cavaliers Trading Him To Celtics: ‘It Wasn’t One Of My Options’

Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017 and was traded to the Boston Celtics. 

However, Irving never wanted to get traded to the Celtics. 

“It wasn’t one of my options, it wasn’t like No. 1 on my list,” Kyrie Irving said on Sunday. “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.”

Irving spent two seasons with the Celtics before signing with the Brooklyn Nets in the offseason of 2019.

Boston fans hate Irving since the Duke product told them he would re-sign with them before the 2018-19 season. 

“That’s what they expect you to do as a player. They expect you to seamlessly buy into the Celtics pride, buy into everything Celtics, and if you don’t, you’ll be outed,” Kyrie Irving said. “I’m one of the people that’s on the outs. … I did it to myself. They don’t welcome me with a warm embrace.”

Irving and the Dallas Mavericks are down 3-1 to the Celtics in the NBA Finals. Game 5 is back in Boston. 

“Let’s call it what it is: When the fans are chanting, ‘Kyrie sucks’ or anything, they feel like they have a psychological edge and that’s fair,” Kyrie Irving said. “If I’m not making shots or turning the ball over, that makes it even more of a pressing issue that they can stay on me for. So I think in order to silence even the self doubt, let alone the crowd doubt, but the self-doubt when you make or miss shots, that’s just as important.”

Irving has career averages of 23.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists with the Cavaliers, Celtics, Nets and Mavericks. He helped Cleveland win the 2016 title over the Golden State Warriors.