Kyrie Irving's trade to Boston Celtics

On Friday, three days after his team acquired Kyrie Irving, Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens stood inside the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame still trying to emotionally process a league-rocking swap of All-Star point guards with Boston's primary rival.
For all his excitement about what lies ahead with Irving, Stevens wanted to first laud what Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder meant in pushing Boston to the brink of title contention. A young Celtics fan had put Stevens on the spot in a question-and-answer session by asking him why he traded the beloved Thomas, and the coach -- the father of two young children -- likely repeated an explanation about how brutal the business of basketball can be.

As if the process of moving on wasn't difficult enough already, the Cleveland Cavaliers were about to throw the trade into a maddening limbo after expressing concerns about Thomas' hip following his post-trade physical. It would be five more excruciating days before the Celtics agreed Wednesday night to deliver a 2020 second-round pick (via the Miami Heat) to officially complete the swap.
With that, the Band-Aid could finally be ripped off. Celtics fans woke up to the reality that, a little more than four years after a languid press conference to introduce MarShon Brooks, Keith Bogans, and Kris Humphries, the Celtics will open training camp next month by sending Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford to their dais.

Yes, with the trade (finally) completed, Stevens' focus can shift back to basketball.
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