The Boston Celtics are being mentioned as one of, if not, the favorite to win the Eastern Conference. In 2017-18, the Celtics, despite injuries to Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, still found a way to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year. Now, with more experience from younger players, there have been rumors that the Celtics had thoughts of trading Kyrie Irving.

While with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Irving solidified his spot as one of the top point guards in the NBA. However, after teaming with LeBron James and Kevin Love for three seasons, Irving pulled off a shocking move when he said he wanted out. The Cavaliers and Celtics agreed on a swap of All-Star players with Isaiah Thomas being included and the Celtics had a new face of the franchise. Or so they thought.

In the 60 games that Irving played for the Boston Celtics last season, he averaged 24.4 points and 5.1 assists while shooting .491 percent, including .410 from three-point range in 32.2 minutes per game. Those were good numbers and you could see why general manager Danny Ainge was quick to make that swap. But after the success of the Celtics after Irving went down late in the season, fans are wondering if the team really needs Irving.

This season has been pretty much the same. There was a point in the offseason where the Kyrie speculation reached a fever pitch and the New York Knicks reportedly rose to the top of the list for Irving’s services. But he put all that to rest when he stated he intends to re-sign with the Celtics in 2019.

But still, one has to wonder if Danny Ainge will be doing the best thing for the team by signing Irving to a long-term deal.

Here are three reasons why the Boston Celtics should trade Kyrie Irving.

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