It's almost been a year since Kyrie Irving handed in his trade request at the Cleveland Cavaliers and was subsequently traded away to the Boston Celtics.

The point guard was traded to the Celtics by the Cavaliers in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, the rights to the Brooklyn Nets' 2018 first-round draft pick, and a 2020 second-round draft pick via the Miami Heat.

While Irving was happy with his trade to Cleveland's Eastern Conference rivals, Boston wasn't one of the original teams which he had picked as a preferred destination when he handed in his trade request.

No Leverage

During a recent appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, via Clutch Sports, the Celtics star was asked if he had much control over where he would wind up once he made it known to the Cavs that he was looking to be shipped away.

Irving revealed that while yes he did have control, it was always going to be up to Cleveland as to where he would end up. So while he did have some leverage, it was essentially out of his hands.

He said: “Yeah I did, but, ideally, it was gonna be up to the team regardless. I would like to think I had somewhat of a leverage point, but at the end of the day, it was going to be a business move for the Cavs in order for us to part ways respectfully.”

Due to the fact it was him that wanted to be traded and not the team, it's not surprising to see that he didn't really have much of a say as to where he would end up. For now, the trade appears to have worked out just fine for him.

Irving is on a Celtics team that also features Gordon Hayward, Jason Tatum, and Jaylen Brown, and they're widely considered to be the favourites to win the Eastern Conference next season. Where Irving's future lies beyond next season though is a mystery.

The point guard will have a chance to decide where he would like to play his basketball when he hits the open market in free agency in the summer of 2019.

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