Nov. 27: Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics
After the Boston Celtics fell short in the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals, Kyrie Irving offered the fans a bit of good news prior to the start of last season, when he stated that he intended to remain with the team beyond the 2018-19 campaign.
“If you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here.” - @KyrieIrving https://t.co/0wDLzuv5WL
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 4, 2018
As the season progressed, Irving didn’t always endear himself to his teammates.
One example of this sentiment is the fact that he called out is supporting cast following a mid-January loss to the Orlando Magic, stating that some of the younger players didn’t know what it took to be a championship-caliber team.
Then, about a month later, Irving stated that he didn’t know anyone anything in terms of his pending free agency decision.
So, after the Celtics were ousted by the Milwaukee Bucks 4-1 in the conference semifinals, it was all but a forgone conclusion that Irving had no plans of wearing Celtics green next season.
Following a season in which his role consisted of leading a cast of younger players, Irving will be in a similar position with the Nets while Kevin Durant is working his way back from an Achilles injury.
Replacing a player with Irving’s skill set wasn’t going to be an easy task, but the Celtics did well with acquiring Walker and it should be interesting to see Irving going head-to-head against his replacement, who just happens to be an All-Star caliber point guard in his own right.