Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving experienced "immediate relief" from the knee soreness that plagued him all year after the tension wire in his left knee was removed, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Per Wojnarowski, the Celtics believe Irving will make a full recovery after the removal of the screws in his knee. A Celtics team source told ESPN that they believe Irving will return even better than before.

The Celtics wanted to bring Irving back for the postseason. Per the Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach, Boston "aggressively sought other options" aside from surgery when Irving informed them how much better he felt, hoping to find something that would allow their star point guard to return sooner. But the presence of bacteria in the screws left the Celtics with only one choice: Remove the screws now and endure the 4-to-5 month wait until he could return.

On the one hand, the status of Irving's knee is positive news for the Celtics, despite the unfriendly timeframe. "Immediate relief" suggests the Celtics found the source of the issue -- an issue that wasn't preventing Irving from putting up productive numbers despite his discomfort. Irving wrapped up his season just under 50/40/90 in overall field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage, while dishing out over five assists per game. Doing that while nursing an infection in his knee makes his first season in Boston a little extra special.

Boston has maintained Irving's knee is structurally sound, and they once again announced the long-term prognosis is good when they sent out the initial release. That removing the tension wire provided such immediate relief from the knee pain Irving experienced all season is a good sign.

The Celtics just hope both Irving and Hayward can return healthy next season. Getting two fully healthy All-Stars back alongside Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum could turn the Celtics into real, immediate contenders in the Eastern Conference.