After a month of conflicting reports, the Cleveland Cavaliers ultimately traded Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and 2018 Brooklyn Nets first round draft pick. With any signing or trade, basketball fans react differently to the news.

Despite being traded, some Celtics fans decided to burn Thomas' jersey. His former teammate, Jaylen Brown, quickly came to his defense on Twitter:

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A newspaper as the background, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on one side, a bunch of Boston Celtics fans on the other side with the teeth clenched emoji around them

Owen Crisafulli ·

In the middle, recent in-game photos of Erik Spoelstra and Joe Mazzulla. Have Spoelstra smiling/celebrating and Mazzulla looking upset. Behind Mazzulla, recent in-game photos of Jayson Tatum and Derrick White, looking frustrated/upset. Behind Spoelstra, recent in-game photos of Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin celebrating/ smiling/clapping.

Jack Winter ·

SEO title is: Shaquille O'Neal goes viral after perfect Heat-Celtics Game 2 prediction: 'Shaqstradamus'

Rexwell Villas ·

While these Celtics fans do not represent the entire fanbase, it is difficult to see some of them burning a player's jersey who played under extremely unfortunate circumstances. A day before the first round series against the Chicago Bulls, Thomas' younger sister passed away in a car accident. He eventually led them to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but was shut down for the remainder of the season after a hip injury.

While it is extremely rare for the top two teams in the conference to make a trade, it adds another exciting layer heading into the 2017-18 NBA season. As Irving is looking to prove he can be a team's first option, James is looking to make his eighth consecutive NBA Finals appearance with his new sidekick. Fortunately for all basketball fans, they face off against each other in the season opener at Quicken Loans Arena.