When Kyrie Irving asked the Cleveland Cavaliers management to trade him in the offseason, it took a lot of fans by surprise. However, the trade seemed to work out well for both the Cavs and the Boston Celtics, as Irving has become a star in Boston and Isaiah Thomas made his long-awaited Cavs debut by scoring 17 points from the bench in his first game since leaving Boston. However, in a recent interview with Irving, it turns out that this trade almost didn't happen and the reason he wanted to leave Cleveland was that he knew they wanted to trade him anyway - originally to a very different team.

The original Kyrie Irving trade offer

It turns out that before the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off the Kyrie Irving for Isaiah Thomas trade with the Boston Celtics, they had spoken to the Phoenix Suns. Irving said that the original trade would have sent Irving to the Suns along with Channing Frye. The trade also would have sent Paul George and Eric Bledsoe to the Cavs and would have included the Suns giving away their fourth overall pick in the NBA Draft.

The Phoenix Suns shot down the trade because they didn't want to give up the draft pick. However, it told Kyrie Irving everything he needed to know about his future with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"I didn't feel the need to say anything because I knew the truth, and so did they," Irving said.

"So, it didn't matter what others said,"

Kyrie Irving becomes the 'bad guy'

When Kyrie Irving requested a trade, it was after the Phoenix Suns trade fell through. However, the Cleveland Cavaliers wanted to trade Irving before he asked even though fans might not have realized it. Irving said that they didn't want him in Cleveland, so that affected his request for a trade.

Fans turned on him after this, but it appears he wasn't wholly to blame.

The news media jumped all over the story, saying that Kyrie Irving wanted to play for a team where he was the leader and didn't want to play under LeBron James anymore. However, there is a chance that this trade would never have happened if the Cleveland Cavaliers were not actively trying to trade him before his request.

As mentioned, the trade worked out for both teams. The Boston Celtics once again lead the Eastern Conference, which they won last year. Kyrie Irving is averaging 24.8 points, 4.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds-per-game and is ninth in player efficiency.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in third after dropping three straight games before reactivating Isaiah Thomas and are hot on the heels of the Celtics. The trade was a massive story before the season started but it looks like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving might be fighting for a shot at the NBA Finals by the end of the season.
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