Ex-Celtics guard Kyrie Irving said he regrets Cleveland trade request

Kyrie Irving’s lived through multiple NBA lives, ranging from winning a title in Cleveland to his rocky two-year stint in Boston to, now, his tenure in Brooklyn. He’s a plenty talented player, but injuries and vaccination requirements have kept him off the court in his time with the Nets, as Irving has suited in just 103 games over the past three seasons.

Irving, 30, reflected on his basketball career with The Athletic and Stadium’s Shams Charania in a one-on-one interview before the start of the season. Charania asked Irving if there was anything he would change during his career, and Irving pinpointed to one important moment: His trade request from Cleveland. Irving admitted “he did not understand the NBA business” and the inner workings of the league when he asked to be shipped from the only NBA home he had known at the time.

“When I asked for a trade from Cleveland, the one thing that I look back on is, did I exhaust as many opportunities to get closer to guys when I felt some type of difference?” Irving said. “There was a lot of things that happened in the business that I didn’t understand. Asking for a trade, I don’t think it was my time to ask for a trade. And especially to go to Boston, who was No. 2 in our conference, or No. 1, it was just right down the street.”

Irving was traded from the Cavaliers to the Celtics in a blockbuster move in July 2017, replacing All-Star Isaiah Thomas at the point guard spot. It was a huge deal that was expected to boost the Celtics into title contenders. A big part of the trade request came from Irving wanting to be more of a focal point of a team, instead of in the shadows in Cleveland alongside LeBron James.

Of course, Irving’s two-year tenure in Boston didn’t paint him in a favorable light to Celtics fans. His first year ended prematurely because of a season-ending injury, though the Celtics still made the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cavs, Irving’s old team. The Celtics were favored to win the title going into Irving’s second season, but things fell apart as the season went along. The Celtics eventually lost in five games to the Bucks in the second round of the playoffs, including dropping four straight games after winning Game 1.

Irving then went on to sign with the Nets and team up with Kevin Durant. Celtics fans have relentlessly booed and jeered Irving whenever he returns to Boston, including the playoffs the past two seasons. Irving’s gotten his shots in at some of the fans over the years, too, as the fans and Irving have gone back-and-forth. Irving, though, was complimentary of his time in Boston and has talked about the struggles he endured when he was a Celtic. But Irving went on the record and said he probably shouldn’t have asked for the initial trade request from Cleveland.

“I’m grateful that I had my time there because it was one of the most historical franchises that, again, I did not know the power of our industry, the Boston Celtics, the history behind it,” Irving said. “When I reflect on it, at 30 years old I can say I understand the business better, I understand the way that roles work. And if anybody can sit here honestly and say they messed up, it was me. Because if I’m saying that it is family-run and relationship-run, then while I was in these situations I didn’t handle all of those relationships as I would have wanted. Now that I’m in Brooklyn, what I’ve been able to learn is like, this is for me, and I have to choose me in order to be better.”

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