Cleveland Cavaliers to honor Irving with video tribute

Kyrie Irving may have hurt the Cleveland Cavaliers' feeling when he demanded to be traded this offseason, but the team is going to honor him with video tribute when the star point guard returns to Cleveland in the season opener with Boston Celtics, the NBA's official website revealed on Tuesday.

The Cavs are planning to honor Irving during the opening match with a video montage when the Celtics visit Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night.

The video is intended to serve as a "Thank you" for Irving after he spent six seasons in Cleveland and helped the Cavs capture the NBA title in 2016.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) moves to the basket against Los Angeles Clippers forward Jeff Green (8) during the first half at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, USA, on March 13, 2016. [File Photo: IC]

After he was traded to Boston, Irving publicly thanked the Cavs for having enough faith in him to draft him and for giving him his start in the NBA. He even gave his sneakers to a young fan who was wearing a Cavs jersey during a preseason game.

It's not clear that the Cavs fans will cheer or boo Irving, but Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said the fans will make the right choice.

"We've got the best fans in the world and they're going to do whatever they see best," Lue said. "Whatever decision they make, that's the right one. Because they've been behind us for years since I've been here, they've always made the right decisions. So whatever they decide to do, I embrace whatever they do."