CLEVELAND _ Former Cavaliers teammates and fans who want Kyrie Irving to reveal the real reasons he wanted to leave Cleveland might forever remain unsatisfied.
Because, according to Irving, "that's not what real grown-ups do."
As the four-time All-Star guard returned to Quicken Loans Arena with the Boston Celtics for Tuesday night's season opener, Irving wasn't interested in getting into the circumstances that caused him to ask the Cavs for a trade this summer.
The Cavs accommodated what was more a demand than a request, sending him to the Celtics on Aug. 22 for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and two draft picks, including the Brooklyn Nets' unprotected first-rounder in 2018. Irving, 25, was given the opportunity to escape the shadow of LeBron James and take his game to new heights.
But at shootaround Tuesday morning, Irving offered little about his departure.
"I kind of want to put that to rest in terms of everyone figuring out or trying to continue to dive into a narrative they have no idea about and probably will never, ever be divulged because it's not important," Irving said. "This was literally just a decision I wanted to make solely based on my happiness and pushing my career forward. I don't want to pinpoint anything, I will never pinpoint anything because that's not what real grown-ups do. They continue to move on with their life and continue to progress and that's what I'm going to continue to do."
Irving tried to explain his "I'm playing in a real, live sports city," comment from last week, although he didn't do a very good job.
"When I'm actually on the highway driving into Boston, the newness and the new environment of going into that city is something different for me," Irving said. "It turned into a comparison of me comparing Boston to Cleveland and it wasn't anything like that.
"But real live sports city is anything you want it to be in terms of your opinion. But for me, it was ... something I kind of witnessed from afar that I didn't really know about until I actually got the chance to be in Boston and see what the fans are like. So that was exciting for me."
The first overall pick in 2011, Irving sounded genuinely appreciative of the time he spent in Cleveland.
Asked what he had to say to fans, Irving said: "I'm excited to be back. I'm excited to get the season started. It's a little different for all of us. But my six years being here they were something that helped me evolve as a man and coming in here every single night and strapping up my shoelaces for the Cleveland Cavaliers was something awesome and now I start a new journey, a new step in my career," he said. "Ready to get it started, but I'm always truly grateful for them welcoming me with open arms and making sure that me and my family were always supported. Ultimately my love will never change that I have for Cleveland."
Although his sneakers had Celtics' shamrocks on the toes, he said he would not forget his time in Cleveland, which included three consecutive trips to the NBA Finals to face the Golden State Warriors and his game-winning shot that gave the Cavs the 2016 championship.
"We're etched in NBA history forever," Irving said. "I know most teams say that we're bonded forever, but that couldn't be more true for the team that came from a 3-1 lead and understanding what we had to do and what we had to commit ourselves to in order to accomplish something bigger than ourselves. I was a part of that special team. Something I will remember for the rest of my life."
