Two years ago I was driving from Western Massachusetts to my girlfriends dorm in Newport Rhode Island. (Humble brag that I have a girlfriend), when I heard that Isaiah Thomas would be packaged with Jae Crowder for Kyrie Irving. I should have trusted my heart when it immediately shrunk that Ainge did I.T. so dirty. Instead, I trusted my brain and said “Kyrie is the second best PG in the league.” As we all know this did not work (for either team) as I.T. was crushed by the effects of his debilitating hip injury, and well Kyrie infected a promising Celtics team with more team killing venom than Terrell Owens, Andray Blatche, and MIlton Bradley combined.

However, after a wild opening day of NBA free agency the Kyrie era has officially ended, (Is there a world where I can make the argument that Jae Crowder was has had the most success in the last two seasons out of I.T. and Kyrie. I feel like if I tried really hard I could make this claim but that seems like a lot of effort for Jae Crowder) as he joins the rest of the flat earthers in Brooklyn. As a Celtics fan I would like to publicly apologize to the young core of Brooklyn (Joe Harris, Caris LeVert, and Jarrett Allen) as your careers will soon see more speed bumps than a retirement community parking lot. As this era ends I will not focus on the bizarre antics of Kyrie as his renegade actions drove the entire city of Boston crazy. I would like to focus one more time on the bravery and grit that was the legend of Isiaha Thomas. Thanks for everything I.T. Boston always appreciates everything you have done for the city. As the saying goes, “Ball don’t lie”, and I believe the doom that Kyrie bestowed upon the Celtics was deserved for how they treated you.

With that all being said I would like to extend a warm Boston welcome to Kemba Walker. That’s right baby, we got Cardiac Kemba. The man who put 2011 UCONN Huskies on his back is heading back to New England and I am ecstatic about it. Not only did Kemba average over 25 PPG and 5 assists last season but he has only missed 6 games in the last 4 seasons. Kemba is durable, Kemba is tough and Kemba is going to fit in here in Boston.

Also I would like to quickly mention that my friend Evan predicted the Celtics were going sign Kemba this offseason months before it actually happened! Don’t believe me… well your in luck that he dropped this take live on our podcast (Shameless plug for the Alex and Jeff show featuring Evan, check us out on Youtube and Facebook)

Everyone knows Celtics basketball means tradition. The guys who buy into this tradition become beloved Celtics for life. Guys like Marcus Smart, Kevin Garnett, and Isiaha Thomas are all recent examples of players who have bought into this tradition and have left everything they have on the parquet floor. (check out KG’s mentality before game 7 of the NBA Western conference finals in the clip below)I know Kemba will do the same. Kemba plays through injuries, never gives up on a play and thrives when pressure is the highest. I learned my lesson about trusting my heart when it comes to Celtics players and it is telling me that Kemba will carry on the tradition established by Russell, Hondo, Bird, and Pierce.

After such a disappointing season it is great to have some hope. Kemba welcome to Boston man, you are welcome to hop on the Podcast anytime you want.