BOSTON – Is the storied history of the Boston Celtics about to add yet another championship chapter?

It depends on how the blockbuster trade announced Tuesday turns out for the team that’s won more NBA titles (17) than any other franchise but is currently experiencing a nine-year drought.

The Celtics acquired 6-foot, 3-inch superstar Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers for 5-foot, 9-inch superstar Isaiah Thomas, two other players and a first-round draft pick.

Fans were divided over who got the better deal. Thomas had superior numbers from the point guard position last season, averaging 28.9 points and 5.9 assists to Irving’s 25.2 points and 5.8 assists.

But Irving is only 25, three years younger than Thomas, and he’s been to the NBA finals with the Cavaliers three times, playing a key role in Cleveland capturing the title as underdogs to the Golden State Warriors in 2016.

Yet he wanted out of Cleveland, possibly because his second-fiddle role to LeBron James, arguably the league’s best player, cast a large shadow on Irving’s desire to become a signature player in his own right.

James and Thomas will form a formidable challenge to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference this season. They will be aided and abetted by two other Celtics included in the trade: 6-foot, 6-inch forward Jae Crowder and 7-foot center Ante “Toni” Zizic, a Croatian pro basketball player who signed with the Celtics in June.  

However, adding Irving to the Boston mix of Al Horford and Gordon Hayward – both NBA All-Stars with noteworthy scoring and rebounding abilities – gives the Celtics another “Big Three” to compete with the league’s top teams, including the reigning champion Warriors.

Horford, 6-feet, 10-inches, joined the Celtics from the Atlanta Hawks before last season; the 6-foot, 8-inch Hayward left the Utah Jazz to sign with Boston in July. Both were free agents.

In addition, the Celtics in June drafted the NBA’s third overall pick in Jayson Tatum, who played one year at Duke, to go with the 2016 third draft pick Jaylen Brown, and three-year fixture Marcus Smart, who averaged more than 10 points per game last year mostly coming off the bench.

Danny Ainge, president of the Celtics and a former NBA standout player, retooled the Celtics for one reason: He wants to hang an 18^th championship banner and then some from the TD Boston Garden rafters.

Irving, Horford and Hayward load up Boston’s payroll, Ainge acknowledged, adding that acquiring one of the NBA’s best offensive players in Irving comes with “a heavy price” for the final piece necessary to the complete the team’s winning strategy.

Boston’s fans were not happy over the departure of Thomas. His fearless, scrambling style among players that loomed above him like giant Redwoods and his deadeye three-point shooting made him the most popular player on a Boston team that finished this past regular season in first place in the Eastern Conference.

That affection grew even stronger when Thomas endured an injured hip and the death of his sister in a Seattle area car accident during the Celtics’ playoff run, which fell short when the Cavaliers overwhelmed Boston in the conference finals.

“He entertained us all, the whole city of Boston, and everybody fell in love with him,” Ainge told the Boston Globe. “He’s such an underdog because of his size and his heart and his spirit.”

The Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, Massachusetts, contributed to this story.