Discussing his championship aspirations amid his trade to the Dallas Mavericks, star guard Kyrie Irving believes that he's now on the right side of the fence. Not just because he would rather have played for the Mavs than the Brooklyn Nets, but because he would rather play in the West at this point of his career than in the East.

“I could sit up here and say we're gonna win [a championship] and put it out there,” an honest Irving tells reporters during All-Star Weekend, “but we have all these great players in the way.”

“That's the beauty of this game, the beauty of this sport, the beauty of this profession,” he continues. “When you can go against the best. I'm grateful that I'm in the Western Conference now because they say that this is the best conference. Loaded with guys, loaded with talent.”

A true competitor, the chance to face the superstars that litter the Western Conference clearly excites the 12-year veteran.

“I want to walk up that mountain. I want to climb up that mountain and this is what I want for my career because winning in the West at this point, with all these great young guys that are coming in — and of course the Eastern Conference is competitive, I would have loved to stay there too — but being in the Western Conference [is] the challenge I needed.”

Kyrie should have the chance to do just that this postseason, with the Luka Doncic-led Mavs currently ranked 6th in the Western Conference standings.