[Old General Record] The man who once crushed the Celtics!

Looking back at the 2017 Boston Celtics, a team that makes people feel mixed emotions.

That year, they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals without being favored, and then won the No. 1 pick with the Nets in the lottery draw, and welcomed the core puzzle Gordon Hayward in the free market.

It seems that everything in the team is heading, but what really takes the headlines is the last big deal that caused a sensation in the league:

"Thomas Jr. and Kyrie Irving's swap club. "

For countless Celtic fans, Thomas Jr. was definitely the hero of the time, but the height of his leadership was always limited; and the appearance of Irving couldn't help but make many people begin to fantasize about the team's 18th championship.

Before the transaction, when I was about Irving's resume, the story between him and the Celtics had actually been laid. Irving's father Drederick was invited to attend the Celtics training camp in 1988, and Irving's first final victory after entering the NBA occurred in North Shore Garden. It was only after joining the Celtics that Irving was able to wear the No. 11 jersey he had always dreamed of.

Although the loss of Thomas Jr. made many fans feel regretful, the 16-game winning streak at the beginning of the season still gave Boston hope. Irving averaged 24.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, and his shooting percentage hit a career high with 49.1%. The gorgeous singles and offensive ability at critical moments made Celtic fans quickly forget Thomas Jr. It was also at that time that the Celtics fans began to believe that the 18th championship belonging to the team was likely to appear soon.

But long ago, the hidden dangers between Irving and the Celtics were buried. Especially the saying "trade me" was destined to all this early on.

In the news exposed by reporters, long before the transaction, Irving's team warned the Cavaliers that if the transaction was not completed before the start of the 2017-18 season, he would choose to undergo knee surgery to give up the subsequent season. The news of this injury was suppressed at the time of the transaction. Until the transaction was completed, even though the team's record was excellent, Irving eventually fell due to an injury.

Without Irving and Hayward, the Celtics relied on the core teams of Tatum, Brown and Rozier to break into the Eastern Conference Finals and lost seven bloody battles against James. Even so, Celtics fans still believe that the healthy Irving is the key force this team lacks.

But the rise of young players in the team has brought another kind of uneasiness to the team. Coach Stevens' egalitarian tactics are gradually losing balance, and the distribution of ball rights has caused dissatisfaction among players. Players who recover from major injuries need to find their own state. Young players in contract years need opportunities to fight for the future.

Faced with two different forces, a dark tide began to appear within the team.

Until Irving made a promise to the fans all over the court in 2018:

"If you want me to come back, then I'm happy to stay here!"

This sentence once excited the Celtics fans, but unfortunately the good times didn't last long. As the team lost, undercurrents began to appear inside. Until January 2019, against the Magic, this mediocre regular season became the last straw that broke the camels.

In the key attack at the last moment of the game, Hayward served on the sideline but did not hand the ball to Irving. In the end, the game was defeated. Irving was furious on the spot, without any concern, everyone shouted at his teammates on the spot, and then spread his hands and walked towards the player channel, and the contradictions within the team began to surface.

Even though Irving publicly apologized afterwards, the person he apologized was not Hayward or the young player on the team. The person he apologized was LeBron James.

The person who was once eager to get rid of James' shadow finally began to understand the difficulty of leading the team. Judging from the growth of players, this is the standard for Irving's maturity, but for the Celtics fans who have always regarded James as their number one rival, Irving's remarks are indeed a taboo. At this time, the Celtics fans also began to wake up from their dreams and began to relive Thomas Jr.'s goodness...

No surprise, Irving is undoubtedly the biggest star Angie has obtained since Garnett in 2007. Irving did indeed successfully change the fate of the Celtics like Garnett. However, Garnett brought this lost city, which lasted for 20 years, and Irving returned to the peak, and Irving pushed the Celtics down the abyss with one hand.

The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment...

Now, the story between Irving and the Celtics finally became a memory that neither side wanted to remember, and what if I were to say Irving left for the Celtics?

The greatest value is perhaps that it has taught all Celtic fans a truth, recognized the fact that "talent cannot determine everything" and allowed Boston, which has always emphasized unity, to return to the team.

But fortunately, after the team went around, they were able to return to the path they should have chosen, allowing the championship flag to float again over the North Shore Arena...