Cavs vs Celtics: Who won the Kyrie Irving Trade?

Damichael Cole
Aug 23, 2017 · 4 min read
Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas headline blockbuster trade deal. (Photo via NY Daily News)

On August 22nd, the Cavs and Celtics took the NBA by storm with a blockbuster trade that headlined two all star point guards — Isaiah Thomas and Kyrie Irving.

The Cavs received the larger package in the deal, adding Jae Crowder, a 1st round pick and Ante Zizic to go along with Thomas.

Many people are still trying to figure out which team really won this trade. The Cavs got the larger package, but the Celtics received the best player involved in the deal easily.

Let’s break down this trades for both sides:

Cavaliers: The Cavs are adding Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder to a roster that will greatly appreciate their additions.

Thomas gives the Cavs the crunch time scorer that they lost in Kyrie Irving. In this idea, the Cavs may have hit the jackpot.

Thomas was second in the NBA in 4th qtr scoring last season and was undoubtedly at his best in crunch time. LeBron has received a lot of criticism for his lackluster fourth quarter performances, including averaging just 3.3 points and shooting 31.3% in the 2017 NBA finals. Thomas may give the Cavs an even better closer than Irving ever was. IT averaged 9.8 points per game in the fourth quarter while Irving only averaged 5.6 in the 2016–2017 season.

Crowder adds versatility and the ability to get hot from behind the three point line. For the Celtics last season, he shot 39.8% from behind the arc while also being one of their best defenders. The NBA is becoming position less basketball and Crowder is another player that can guard multiple positions and will help LeBron focus more offensively.

Crowder’s addition is huge because even though he isn’t the same level of defender as Iman Shumpert, he provides a better offensive presence and a good enough defensive presence to form some deadly lineup combinations with Kevin Love and LeBron James.

Celtics: The Celtics received the biggest piece in the deal in Kyrie Irving.

Irving adds a bonafide scorer with a killer instinct to the roster. He will also not have to worry about being the man in Boston, because there’s no doubt who will be taking the last shots in crunch time for the Celtics.

Irving is a definite upgrade over Thomas, who the Celtics were supposedly worried about recovering from his hip injury. In addition to this, losing Crowder frees up minutes for Jaylon Brown and Jayson Tatum.

Who won the trade: Realistically, both teams came out winners in the trade.

For the Celtcis, they added an alpha male to go with a projected starting lineup of Hayward, Brown, Marcus Morris and Al Horford.

As for the Cavs, IT, Crowder and Zizic add much needed depth to the roster around LeBron James. Realistically, this was a great haul for the Cavs. Everyone knew that Irving wanted to leave, and they still managed to get an impressive package for the all-star.

This deal was won by the Cavaliers. While the Celtics may have tightened the screws, let’s not forget the Cavs blew them out of the water in the conference finals last season. The addition of Crowder will be a critical factor in not only a matchup with the Celtics, but his versatility would really help in a rematch against the Warriors.

Isaiah Thomas’ defensive liability will hurt the Cavs, but they do have Derrick Rose now as well who could see a large amount of playing time.

For the Celtics, they lost this trade for next season, but they could see their true gains in two years.

This team right now doesn’t have enough to beat the Cavs in a 7-game series, but they’re very close.

The Celtics major problem last season was rebounding. They gave up the fifth most offensive rebounds per 100 possessions in the league last season and they were third from the bottom in defensive rebounding. Losing Ante Zizic, who showed great rebounding potential in the summer league, won’t help this problem.

In two years, the Celtics should be the better team.

Boston owns the rights to the Lakers 2018 first round draft pick and could cash in by drafted a big man. Also, Tatum and Brown, who will see a large amount of minutes next season, will be ready to take on the challenge of beating the Cavs. This roster could seemingly have no weaknesses in two years and there’s a very good chance that LeBron James leaves Cleveland after this season.

Losing Crowder hurts because he was there best option to throw at LeBron James. Now, the Celtics will likely depend on Jaylon Brown and a mixture of Morris, Hayward and Tatum to get the job done. To put it bluntly, they don’t stand a chance at stopping LeBron.

Overall, the battle next season will be one to watch. The two teams will open up playing opening day, but many people are expecting an Eastern Conference Finals rematch.

Barring injuries, the Cavs have the slight advantage right now, but the C’s are closing the gap.

*All stats via Bball reference

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