Tristan Thompson is spot-on in saying Kyrie Irving will have jersey retired by Cavs

Cleveland Cavaliers big Tristan Thompson knows all too well that former Cavs teammate Kyrie Irving has a special place in the team’s history. Thompson also saying how Irving, who is now on the Brooklyn Nets, will have his jersey retired by Cleveland is spot-on.

The 5-11 Cleveland Cavaliers play host to the 8-8 Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

Unfortunately for fans of the Wine and Gold, they will yet again not be able to see former Cavalier star guard Kyrie Irving make a return appearance to Cleveland.

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Irving will reportedly be missing his sixth straight game due to a shoulder issue, and as Sports Illustrated‘s Sam Amico noted, “Irving has played just one game in Cleveland” since Irving was dealt away by the Wine and Gold. As fans of the Cavaliers know, Irving was traded to the Boston Celtics back before the 2017-18 season due to his trade request, and now before this season, he signed with the Brooklyn Nets via unrestricted free agency.

At any rate, though Irving has not been the easiest player to seemingly play with, nobody can question just how special he is as an offensive player.

Current Cavalier and former teammate of Irving on the Cavs, Tristan Thompson, had this to say in regards to Irving, and it’s clear that Thompson, like so many, will always be appreciative of what Kyrie meant to the Cavs.

I can still remember his big postseason games against the likes of the Celtics, Indiana Pacers, and of course, his shot in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals in the closing moments of which the Cavs eventually won is something myself and all fans of the Cavaliers will never forget.

Here’s what Thompson said about Irving, as was transcribed by Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor (and h/t Cavaliers Nation’s Jonathan Sherman).

"“My brother. Great teammate,” Thompson said. “At the end of the day, if I’m going to go to war, need a dog, an MF that can go and hoop I’m definitely going to put him on my team. I mean, the chatter is for you guys to talk about. Teams lose a couple of games and they say the same things about us — what’s going on and blah blah blah. It’s just chatter. At the end of the day, when that untucked Kyrie jersey is out everyone is scared.”"

As Thompson, and I’m sure Kevin Love, who also praised Kyrie’s talent and competitiveness as Fedor noted and praised him as a teammate, too, along with LeBron James, can attest to, that Irving was such a big part of this Cavs franchise.

Anyway, the now-Brooklyn Net has one of the best handles in the NBA, if not the best handle, and even though he did request a trade out of Cleveland, Irving is undoubtedly one of the best players to ever put on a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform.

Factoring in that, Thompson is spot-on in saying how Irving will eventually have his jersey retired by the Wine and Gold.

Here was what Thompson said in that regard, according to Fedor.

"“His jersey will be retired here,” Thompson said. “Part of history. He will always have a place in this Cavaliers franchise.”"

Irving’s jersey should definitely be retired by Cleveland eventually.

As Thompson hit on, the Cavaliers don’t win a championship without Kyrie, and though it’s unfortunate fans haven’t been able to see him playing as a visitor in Cleveland since that 2017 opener as Amico noted, Irving’s contributions on the floor for Cleveland speak for themselves.

Kyrie made four All-Star teams as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Plus, in six seasons with the Wine and Gold, Irving averaged 21.6 points, 5.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, according to Basketball Reference.

Additionally, in the postseason with Cleveland, Irving had 23.9 points, 4.7 assists and 1.5 steals in 52 contests, as shown by Basketball Reference.

Hopefully Kyrie, who is putting up 28.5 points, 7.2 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per contest in the 2019-20 season, has his shoulder issue healed up soon.