When David Blatt heard that Kyrie Irving had demanded a trade, he thought back to a conversation with his former star after taking the Cavaliers’ coaching job in the summer of 2014.

Blatt accepted the post shortly before the grand return of LeBron James. Irving, on the other hand, had just played through three trying seasons as the young star of the then-moribund Cavaliers. He had a simple wish.

“I can still remember Kyrie telling me, ‘I want to come to the game and be happy, and I don’t feel that way,’ ” Blatt said last week, relating that old conversation. “It tells you the importance of feeling this way to Ky. He wants to be happy, and I think that’s working for him now.”

Blatt is once again preparing to go deep into the EuroLeague season, with his Turkish team, Darussafaka Dogus, holding a healthy lead on the field in Group A of the EuroCup standings.

But nothing could have shaken Blatt’s attention like July’s news of Irving’s trade demand. Blatt was moved by Irving’s nerve.

“The first thing that hit me about it was that Kyrie made a very profound statement about himself when he requested a trade,” Blatt said. “It’s a situation that hasn’t been easily interpreted by everyone. It was brave, and it’s one of those things that makes him a special kid.”

Most interpretations have targeted the relationship between Irving and James, the four-time NBA MVP who casts the broadest shadow in basketball. It’s an issue Irving refuses to discuss publicly, and one that James, most recently, probably goosed by referring to Irving as his little brother.

Blatt won’t comment on the Irving-LeBron dynamic, except to say that what they accomplished on the court, including the 2016 NBA championship, was the most important part of the relationship.

“From my experience,” he said, “when they both played together, it was a matter of two great stars who tried to make it work, and it obviously did work. It worked three years in a row.”

Irving has shown great affinity for his new situation in Boston — a place and team dear to Framingham native Blatt’s heart — and the point guard’s new-found joy says a lot to Blatt.

“In Ky’s heart he wanted something that could make him happy and was going to challenge him moving forward,” Blatt said. “It’s proven to be the right decision for him.”

The right decision, because Irving had hit the LeBron-set ceiling in Cleveland.

David Griffin, the former Cleveland general manager who is now an analyst on Sirius XM radio, said during the HoopsHype Podcast last week that Irving had to leave Cleveland if he was going to grow as a player.

“I wasn’t surprised by this at all,” Blatt said. “I know Kyrie and what motivates him. His skills have always been there. But he wanted to know what he could do about taking that next step. From an emotional and personal standpoint I think he needed to fulfill his inner self.”

And that fulfillment, according to Blatt, will come from Irving’s emergence as the top gun on a legitimate contender.

“Ky is (now) the top dog, top of the totem pole, and he’s reveling in that,” he said. “Also incredible is the fact that he’s playing in a winning program. It’s up to him to do whatever it takes from here.

“This is where his potential is really going to come out, with the responsibilities of the team.”

The coach is biased when it comes to the Celtics. He attended the 1969 Finals — Bill Russell’s last — as a kid, and has reverence for the organization.

But Blatt also believes that as much as Irving has talked about the honor of playing for the Celtics, the franchise in return will bring something grander out of his game — especially where leadership is concerned.

“One thing that helps is when you’re with the Boston Celtics, you’re on the team with the greatest history in basketball,” Blatt said. “Coming into that, you not only feel it, it changes the importance of everything moving forward. Ky is enjoying that right now.”

What follows, regardless of Irving’s immense talent, is the next step in the guard’s emergence as one of the NBA’s great players. But first he needed to find a team where he could become, as Blatt said, the “top dog.”

“Don’t forget that Kyrie came in at 19. LeBron came in at 18,” Blatt said. “In LeBron’s first couple of years he didn’t (win a championship), either.

“When a player like this comes in at a young age he is immediately expected to carry the franchise. LeBron was more ready for that than Kyrie was. Kyrie came into a real dysfunctional situation in Cleveland, because the team was so bad.”

Though Blatt hasn’t talked with Irving since the trade, he believes that Irving made the best decision for his own happiness — a factor that, according to the coach, has always played a major role for the perennial All-Star.

“He’s a terrific kid — a real good guy,” Blatt said. “Happiness is really important to him.”

This week’s C’s timeline

Tomorrow, at Indiana, 7 p.m. — The Celtics already have had great success here this season in the form of a 10-point win Nov. 25. But the young Pacers are ascending in the post-Paul George era.

Wednesday, vs. Miami, 7:30 p.m. — The Celtics get their third crack of the season at the 16-win streak breakers. Their win early in the season in Miami came against a Heat team playing without Hassan Whiteside.

Thursday, at New York, 8 p.m. — The Knicks are exceeding expectations in the post-Carmelo Anthony era. Who knew?

Saturday, vs. Chicago, 7:30 p.m. — Twelve days after a bad loss in Chicago, the Celtics have a chance to reset the order with this team.