Kyrie Irving (Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)

On Wednesday night r the Boston Celtics pulled off a blockbuster trade to acquire Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Boston traded Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round pick for Irving. Of course, this trade means that the Knicks have officially missed out on the All-Star point guard to another Eastern Conference rival.

When Irving first requested a trade, he listed the New York Knicks as a potential landing spot. Without a doubt the Knicks were intrigued and even considered a trade involving frustrated star Carmelo Anthony. The deal began to sink when the Cavaliers named Kristaps Porzingis as their asking price for Irving. Obviously the Knicks were not willing to deal a player who can and will be the future of their franchise. Still somewhat salvageable, the trade became completely dead when Anthony officially denied dropping his no-trade clause for Cleveland. At that point most Knicks fans knew that it would be highly unlikely to get Kyrie Irving in a Knicks uniform.

If Kyrie had gotten traded out West to maybe the Phoenix Suns or the Minnesota Timberwolves than this wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Instead, he will be a member of a team that sits right under the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference hierarchy. It’s still too soon to say whether Boston and Cleveland got any better or worse because of this trade. What is clear is that teams in the East will not have any easier of a time trying to reach the NBA Finals. The Celtics and Cavaliers are powerhouses in this league. Struggling teams like the Knicks are going to have to get creative if they want any chance of beating them. Without Kyrie Irving and with likely Anthony on his way out New York fans are going to have put all their trust in this new, very young lineup. Hopefully this new era for the Knicks will be more successful than the last.