CLEVELAND -- Kyrie Irving issued his "thank you" to the city and Cavs fans Thursday, but nothing to LeBron James, now that the trade that sent him to the Boston Celtics is finally complete.

Irving, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2011 NBA draft whose 3-pointer with 53 seconds left in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals helped the Cavs secure their first championship, asked to be traded away from James and the organization in July.

In an Instagram post, Irving said in Cleveland "we stand and fight no matter what the circumstances are, and that's what being in Cleveland embodies, it is all love and a whole lot of pride."

Irving also posted a link to a video farewell to the city and organization on his Instagram bio page, and in that seemed to confirm the numerous reports (including by cleveland.com) of his desire to get away from James' considerable shadow and influence in Cleveland so he could be a star on his own team.

"It's hard to make videos like this because you understand the magnitude of decisions that you make in your life can affect a lot of people all at once," Irving said in the video, without mentioning James. "And when you get to that point and you understand that the best intentions for you and ultimately to be in your truth, and find out what you really want to do in your life and how you want to accomplish it -- that moment comes and you take full advantage of it.

"And there are no other ulterior reasons other than being happy and to be somewhere you feel like it's an environment that's conducive for you maximizing your potential," Irving said.

Irving had said nothing previously about the trade, in which he was shipped to the Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, the Brooklyn 2018 No. 1 pick and Miami 2020 second-round pick, when it was first announced Aug. 22.

The video and post were produced in Atlanta, where Irving is shooting a movie.

The Celtics agreed to add the Miami pick Wednesday night to satisfy Cleveland's concerns about Thomas' right hip, which will likely cause him to miss at least a portion of the season.

Remember, Irving and the Celtics open the 2017-18 season in Cleveland Oct. 17.

In his video, Irving thanked team owner Dan Gilbert and his ownership group for drafting him with the first pick in 2011.

"They took a chance on a 19-year-old kid that was coming off a stubbed right toe, of being in a very, very immature place at the time," Irving said.

There is no mention in either medium from Irving about James.

When the trade was first announced last week, James tweeted that he had "nothing but respect" for Irving and said "what a ride it was our 3 years together."

Irving will be introduced Friday at a news conference in Boston, where he will almost surely (hopefully) be asked why he didn't want to play any more with James, whom he had partnered with for three Finals trips and who was highly supportive of Irving publicly.

Privately, though, James and Irving occasionally butted heads, and Irving was ready to step away from James' shadow and be the star of his own team.

Irving, 25, is a four-time All-Star. He averaged 21.6 points per game over his six seasons here, and a career-high 25.2 points last year.

As Irving was offering his apparent explanation for wanting out of Cleveland in his video, he said "as a human being and as a player perfecting your craft, I put a lot of hours in and a lot of work into just trying to accomplish things that I have dreamt of as a kid."

Like, say, hitting the game-winning shot in Game 7 of a Finals.

"I spent part of my life and my years in the NBA in such a great environment in Cleveland and being there from the start in 2011 and it now coming to an end in 2017, which is still crazy in my mind," Irving said. "But I just want to say that all the individuals that I've met over my six-year span - and I don't say it as if this is an ending friendship or anything like that - but you guys understand how much those moments meant to me and connecting with everyone because it matters and I care and I love the world and I love people and I love being around people.

Irving finished the video with this...

"And to my teammates: crazy stories, crazy experiences and just unbelievable human beings, man. You all know how this brotherhood goes, man. All love."