Kyrie Irving reiterated he had genuine interest in being traded to the New York Knicks despite their current status as a rebuilding franchise.

Irving also had interest in the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat and ultimately was traded to the Boston Celtics.

“It’s pretty easy, man,” Irving said. “They were on the list for a reason. They were close to home. That’s about it.”

“Any time a great player in this league has you on their list, you got to be happy about it,” Jeff Hornacek said.

“I saw (Irving was interested in joining the Knicks) on Twitter,” Kristaps Porzingis said. “I wasn’t even paying too much attention to my own trade talks — and even less to other guys.”