Kyrie Irving was a busy man in 2018. After losing the Finals with LeBron James and the Cavaliers, the star guard asked the front office for a trade. At the same time, he was also trying to complete his movie, ‘Uncle Drew’.
So when he was finally traded to Boston that summer, it must have been a huge relief for the NBA veteran. It’s just a shame he had to find out about it while he was filming the movie.
Reggie Miller, who plays “Lights” in the movie, recently revealed the moment when he and his co-stars, which included Irving, first discovered news of the big trade.
(via The Dan Patrick Show)
“It was Shaq, myself, C-Webb, and Kyrie, and we’re getting ready to do our van scene, and we all had our phones underneath like one of the pillows there, and they all went off at the same time. And then we all looked at it, and then we all looked at him, and he just started shaking his head. He’s like, ‘Okay, well I guess I’m going to Boston.’ And we were like okay, let’s do this.”
It can be hard for star players to digest being traded, but Irving seemed to handle it well enough.
Unfortunately, his stint with the Celtics was mostly unsuccessful and very short-lived. After just two seasons, he left the franchise with many bridges burned. He would even go on to tell Jayson Tatum that he wished he could go back and do things differently.
Jayson Tatum on Kyrie Irving: “Obviously we’ve talked and there’s some things that he told me he wish he could do, would’ve done differently.”
When asked for details, Tatum said he didn’t want to get into that.
In Brooklyn, Irving finally seems to have found a long-term home. Alongside his best friend (Kevin Durant) in a place where he feels free to be himself, it’s fair to say that Kyrie is thriving.
And now, he has the chance for one last taste of revenge as he and his new team face the Celtics in Round 1 of the 2022 playoffs. No doubt, he will have some extra motivation to send them home.
