The blockbuster deal between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers prior to the 2017-18 NBA season seemed to have shocked everyone but a few of those directly involved. Not only were they the clear-cut best teams in the Eastern Conference, but they also each possessed its best point guards as well in Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas.
Although the trade may have understandably shocked Thomas, those close to Irving seemed to know that it was only a matter of time before he took over his own team. Among them is his former head coach and Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe:
“What I see happening with him right now is something I thought would happen eventually, and that’s him becoming a great leader,” Krzyzewski said in a phone interview. “He was born to be a great player, but he was also born to be a great leader, and I think that’s one of the reasons he wanted to take this chance. It wasn’t a negative against anybody [in Cleveland]. It was a positive of, ‘Look, I’m only going to do this for so long. I want to be that leader.’ And I applaud him for doing that. And he’s right. He was right in making that decision.”
It is interesting to see that Krzyzewski noticed Irving's strong leadership traits early on despite his mere 11-game tenure as a Blue Devil. However, the four-time All-Star still received his fair share of criticism from those who felt he was not ready to take on such a role after playing second-fiddle to Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James over the last three years.
Needless to say, the move has worked out for Irving so far in his first season running the show. Not only is he playing the best basketball of his career, but he has managed to lead the Celtics to an NBA-best 18-4 record amidst all the obstacles this team has already had to endure a quarter of the way into the 2017-18 NBA season.
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