The Kyrie Irving trade was one of the biggest stories in the NBA two seasons ago. Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens reflected on the days leading up to it, noting the “wild range of emotions” that he went through.
As reported by Chris Forsberg of ESPN, Stevens was aware of the rumors that Irving might be sent to the Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas. At first, he didn't believe it. After all, Thomas was their superstar player back then. But in about a 20-hour period, it suddenly dawned on Stevens that the trade might actually come into fruition:
“The range of emotions were really wild because you would have no thought that Isaiah Thomas would ever be a part of a trade,” Stevens said.
Critics believed that the Celtics that came out as the winner in the deal. But for Stevens, it was a terribly hard decision to make. The Celtics did get one of the top guards in the league. But parting ways with Thomas — the player who gave them everything he had– was a tough pill to swallow.
“I thought, with Isaiah, that was really hard. I've talked about the emotional investment that you have as a coach and a player, and working together every day, and that's why I've said that I don't think I could do the front office because those hard decisions — I do not envy those. “The only way you would even consider doing that is for a person of Kyrie's caliber. But that doesn't make it any easier.”
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