Blatt praises Kyrie's courage to leave Cavs in search of happiness
Kyrie Irving has had to take some bold risks in his quest to find happiness.
Perhaps the biggest one was asking the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade him this past offseason, leading to his move to the Boston Celtics.
The All-Star point guard's former coach, David Blatt, commended him for having the courage to move on from Cleveland, even after the Cavs made three straight trips to the NBA Finals.
"The first thing that hit me about it was that Kyrie made a very profound statement about himself when he requested a trade," Blatt said, according to Boston Herald's Mark Murphy.
"It's a situation that hasn't been easily interpreted by everyone. It was brave, and it's one of those things that makes him a special kid."
Related - Irving: Happiness, maximizing potential behind trade request
Blatt, who coached Cleveland for one-and-a-halfseasons from 2014-2016, noted how much happiness means to Irving.
"I can still remember Kyrie telling me, 'I want to come to the game and be happy, and I don't feel that way,' he recalled. "It tells you the importance of feeling this way to Ky. He wants to be happy, and I think that's working for him now."
Related: Irving was 'unbelievably craving' an intellectual coach like Stevens
Irving, 25, has led the Celtics to the best record in the Eastern Conference at 25-7 - two games ahead of the club he left behind. Now out from the shadow of LeBron James, the flashy guard is leading the C's in points (24.2) and steals (1.3) per game while boasting career highs in usage rate (31.2 percent) and win shares per 48 minutes (.231).
"It's proven to be the right decision for him," added Blatt.