If Kyrie Irving leaves the Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics will be in the NBA Finals

Kyrie Irving has asked the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade him, and that’s huge news for the Boston Celtics in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

News broke Friday night that star point guard Kyrie Irving has asked the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade him so that he can be the featured player in an offense. This is music to the Boston Celtics ears.

Irving’s request was reportedly made last week, and he added that he no longer wants to play alongside LeBron James.

ESPN‘s Brian Windhorst broke the news on Twitter.

James was apparently blindsided and has no idea that Irving wanted out of Cleveland. Irving is said to have a preferred list of trade destinations, with those being the San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kyrie Irving’s agent Jeff Wechsler would not confirm that a trade was asked for.

"“Kyrie and I had a meeting with Cavs leadership where we discussed many different scenarios in reference to Kyrie and his future with the team. The basis of those discussions and what went on in those discussions are between the Cavs and us. We are respectfully going to keep those private.”"

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Big News for Boston

If Kyrie leaves Cleveland, the Boston Celtics will be in the NBA Finals next season. The Cavaliers are the only team that can stand in Boston’s way in the Eastern Conference, and they’d take a major blow if they trade their starting point guard. His replacement could be Derrick Rose, who has not been the same player over the past few seasons.

Of course, the Cavs would still have LeBron James, but he’d become their sole focus. Cleveland would also likely lose LeBron after the season without Kyrie, as he’s free to opt out of his contract and become a free agent. The Eastern Conference will be wide open for the Celtics taking.

The Celtics have added Gordon Hayward and Marcus Morris, and now their most dangerous opponent is going to lose a star. This is a dream come true scenario. Now, there’s no telling if Cleveland will actually trade Kyrie Irving, but they will have to address the situation. It seems, to me at least, like they will have to move on from him before the season begins. It’s difficult to hold onto a guy that has made it publicly clear that he doesn’t want to play for you.

Next: Morris is excited to play in Boston

If Irving is traded, mark your calendars for next June, because the Boston Celtics will be facing the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 NBA Finals! Yes, people will complain that the East is weak and it doesn’t matter if they make the Finals because the Warriors will sweep, but it does matter. The Celtics may not win the title this year, but they continue to take steps towards building a championship team, and experience will help them when they raise banner 18 in two or three years.