Kyrie Irving addressed the circumstances surrounding his desire to leave Cleveland during an appearance this morning on ESPN’s First Take (Twitter link). The All-Star point guard dismissed the idea that his trade demand was motivated by a desire to get away from LeBron James, according to a post from Chris Forsberg on ESPN Now. But Irving also told the hosts he didn’t inform James before making the request and doesn’t care if the Cavaliers star took it as a personal insult. “Why would I have to?” Irving responded to a question over whether he talked to James before meeting with owner Dan Gilbert.
Irving also discussed the loss of a potential “supermax” designated veteran extension by changing teams, saying “You can’t put a price on happiness,” relays ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Twitter link). He responded to a question on whether he can win a title without James, first by saying “time will tell,” then “absolutely.”
There’s more today out of Boston:
- President of basketball operations Danny Ainge may regret not trying harder to get Jimmy Butler from the Bulls when he was available, writes Shaun Powell of NBA.com in his season preview of the Celtics. He states that Ainge could have easily topped Minnesota’s offer and that Butler would have provided a greater upgrade than switching Isaiah Thomas for Irving. Powell speculates that Ainge was reluctant to give Thomas a max extension next summer considering his hip problems and his age.
- Paul Pierce, who signed a one-day deal with the Celtics in July so he could retire in Boston, is sharing his knowledge with the organization’s younger players, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE. He has taken a particular interest in Jayson Tatum, the Celtics’ first-rounder, who has a skill set similar to Pierce’s. “I feel I can help out this young generation and impact that way,” said Pierce, who has landed a job as an ESPN analyst. “I can still talk about the game. I enjoy talking about the game, being around it; traveling to see games. It’s always going to be in my blood. It’s what I’ve been doing my whole life. So, it’s gonna be hard to completely pull me away from the game.”
- Opening arguments were set to begin today in the felony assault trial for Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris, according to The Associated Press. The trial regarding a 2015 beating incident is expected to last 10 days and will conflict with the start of training camp. The Celtics acquired Marcus Morris from this Pistons this summer in a deal to free up cap room to sign Gordon Hayward.
If “transcendent” was the goal in Boston as opposed to, say, street-tough, then Butler would not have been as attractive to them as to others. And drafting Tatum rather than Jackson or Fultz does suggest transcendence was the goal. GSW presumably went for something like that and got a dynasty. There are different ways to win but it’s best to have a plan. The Cavs, Heat, Bucks & 76ers in the East are all maintaining a theme. Boston’s shift from heart & teamwork to transcendent is sensible for a team that can afford to be picky, and with all those picks, they can.
Insightful comments. I think the Celtics did the right thing. Difficult trade to make considering how Isiah is thought of in Boston and how he became a 5’9″ 29ppm scorer but those are the difference between being good and being great. The Celtics want to be great. They got a 25 year old star to play with a 27 year old star and they have 2 other guys who are 21 and 20 that they think will be future stars. As Kyrie said today – time will tell. One thing we know is true – Danny Ainge is bold and so was Red Auerbach.
Well there’s a 24-yo in New Orleans that fits… thats probably what those extra picks will be spent on. Cavs gotta get a C to match! Assuming James.
I don’t think Danny regrets not going all in on Butler… If you read his comments, he’s looking more towards the alignment of age at this point… Kyrie aligns better, age wise, with the 2Jay’s than Butler did.
no one seems concerned about this potential of the morris twins going to jail and/or missing time due to suspension – celtics could be in a jam