The fallout from the blockbuster Kyrie Irving trade has spread far and wide throughout the NBA. We’ve seen Dwyane Wade stick up for Isaiah Thomas. We’ve seen Irving essentially call out the entire city of Cleveland. At one point, Stephen A. Smith claimed LeBron James wanted to fight Kyrie. It’s been a messy breakup to say the least, but how did we get here, exactly? On an NBA on TNT conference call Wednesday, Reggie Miller gave everyone the scoop of how it all went down.
Apparently, Kyrie Irving found out he was traded to Boston in between shoots for his upcoming Uncle Drew film. Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Nate Robinson, and Kyrie Irving were in a van waiting to shoot their next scene when Miller, Webber, and Robinson’s phones started blowing up with the news that Irving had been traded. Kyrie didn’t have his phone with him at the time.
While Webber, Miller, and Robinson were trying to figure out the best way to tell Kyrie, they finally agreed that just blurting it out would be the best route. I have questions about the logistics behind discussing how you’re going to tell someone something if you’re in the same van with that person, but I won’t pick those nits.
Yahoo Sports has the quotes from Miller himself.
“We were in this small, hot, cramped van getting ready to shoot a scene and all of our phones ding at the same time, except for Kyrie,” Miller said. “He didn’t have his phone.
“And we’re looking at one other like, ‘Should we tell him?’” Miller said. “Obviously, we had to tell him because he was, like, right in front of us, so we all showed him the phone.”
What a bizarre way to find out you’ve been involved in one of the biggest trades in NBA history. Miller didn’t confirm nor deny this part of it, but I really hope all of those guys were in their ‘Uncle Drew’ getups. That paints a fantastic mental picture.
Miller also revealed what Irving’s initial reaction was after finding out he would be playing in Boston this season.
“His expression was funny,” Miller said. “He was like, ‘Huh? Let’s do this.’ And that’s how we all found out that he had been traded to the Celtics.”
That sure sounds like Kyrie Irving.
