Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving, left, and Gordon Hayward look on from the bench during the first quarter of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers in Boston, Monday, Oct. 9, 2017. AP PHOTO/Winslow Townson
The Cleveland Cavaliers were supposed to honor their former point guard Kyrie Irving on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) as he stepped foot inside the Quicken Loans Arena as member of the Boston Celtics for the first time.
But even after the Cavs survived a thrilling nail-biter against the visiting team on opening night, the video tribute never aired.
READ: Cavaliers hold off Celtics in NBA opener
According to Cleveland.com’s Jason Lloyd, several Cavs officials—including majority owner Dan Gilbert—decided not to show the video after failing to find the “right moment.”
“We were expecting to run it at a floating opportunity based on the right moment, and we felt that moment never presented itself,” the team’s spokesman Tad Carper told the sports writer.
Irving’s former teammates were also reportedly irked upon learning about the tribute video, after the four-time All-Star publicly asked to be traded this off-season.
Meanwhile, Carper clarified that the decision was not in any way related to the horrific injury suffered by the Celtics’ Gordon Hayward, who appeared to fracture his ankle just five minutes into the game.
READ: Gordon Hayward suffers gruesome ankle injury in Celtics’ season-opener
Before packing his bags to Beantown, Irving donned the Cavs’ colors for six seasons and was an instrumental figure to the team’s first ever NBA title run in the 2015-2016 season. /ra