The 2017-18 NBA season is less than a month away from kicking off and Kyrie Irving will be in a different uniform for the first time since being drafted by Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2011 NBA Draft. After demanding a trade this past offseason, Irving will now be playing for the team that he helped the Cavaliers defeat in last season's Eastern Conference Finals in the Boston Celtics. Since the day Kyrie demanded a trade, there has been a lot of speculation that his decision was made due to the fact he did not want to play alongside LeBron James any longer.

It was also reported that Irving's decision had a lot to do with him wanting to lead his own team. It is well-known that Kyrie had to play "Robin" to LeBron the last three seasons that the two superstars spent together. Irving naturally plays the point guard position but had to play off the ball a lot because of the LeBron's style of play. Now that he's able to get a fresh start in Boston, he will be the primary ball handler for the Celtics and the star player.

The new and improved Celtics

With the addition of Kyrie Irving, the Celtics get a leader and an NBA champion that is ready to relive some of the same magic he helped create with LeBron in Cleveland.

The Celtics also signed all-star forward Gordon Hayward this offseason and they expect him to fit in immediately since he played under head coach Brad Stevens while playing for Butler during his college days. The Celtics also drafted the talented Jayson Tatum from Duke University with the No. 3 overall pick in this year's draft.

Irving played his one-and-done college season at Duke, so he's already familiar with Tatum off the basketball court.

Jaylen Brown showed how much his game has improved in the NBA Summer League. He and Tatum played well together this summer and Marcus Smart continues to improve his game all-around. The team also acquired F Marcus Morris from the Detroit Pistons in a trade for Avery Bradley.

He is expected to bring a more solid inside presence playing alongside veteran center Al Horford. With the amount of talent the team has been able to snatch up this offseason, they may have what it takes to dethrone the Cavs as Eastern Conference champs.

Boston, Cleveland to face off in season opener

It won't take fans long to see the matchup between Kyrie and LeBron. The Cavs and Celtics will meet on the NBA's opening night this season on Oct. 17 at 8:00 p.m. on TNT. It will be interesting to see the response that Irving will get from the crowd in his return to Cleveland. Shortly after his departure, several fans over social media decided to post videos of Irving's Cavs jersey being burned. So, he could very well receive mixed emotions from Cleveland fans.
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