Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge explained why he considered the Cleveland Cavaliers less than "ideal" as a trade partner this summer but still opted to pull off a move for Kyrie Irving.
During a recent interview with the Boston Sports Journal's Brian Robb, Ainge admitted he would have preferred to make a blockbuster trade with another team.
"You know what, I think dealing with Cleveland, it's not ideal," Ainge said. "It's not ideal to deal with your rival. They probably had some trepidation and vice versa, but ultimately it was just trying to do what was best to build our team."
Added Ainge: "Both Boston and Cleveland were very aware of who our trading partners were. We know Cleveland is our greatest competition in the East right now and we know we are giving them some good players, some good options. We felt like we are getting a great one."
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