It finally happened and boy it didn’t disappoint. Kyrie Irving was traded and headed to the
Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Net’s
2018 unprotected first-round pick. I
really like this trade and I think this is a win-win for both teams. And this happens just as it looked like
Cleveland was struggling coming up with a decent trade.
Cleveland gets better by replacing Irving with Thomas while adding
Crowder. Thomas isn’t better than Irving
but is a capable substitute while Crowder brings good defense and much needed
depth. I can’t say what Zizic brings to
the table except for a cool name. I
think this team could be better than last season’s assuming everyone gels in
Cleveland’s system. For the future
Cleveland would have a top 5 pick to help infuse the team with some young
talent. If Thomas plays well and
Cleveland wants to retain him they can look at re-signing him once his contract
is over at the end of the season. It
also means that if LeBron James leaves in free agency, something I don’t think
will happen, they’ll have the Nets’ pick, can let Thomas go, find a new home
for whatever holdovers are still on contract and start from scratch. In theory they have all their bases covered.
Boston gets a 25 year-old stud of a point guard for at least two
years. Irving may not be there past two
years but if he is he can definitely be the cornerstone for years to come. Combined with Gordon Hayward, Al Horford and
some of the other young pieces they have to include the #3 pick in this year’s
draft, Jayson Tatum, Boston should compete for years to come. As with any trade you must worry about how
players will gel but I’d expect this to be a good team. If Irving does leave you still get two years
of his top caliber play and Boston has stock piled other first-round picks
which should help them reload or can be used to trade for top talent.
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