Who Won The Boston-Cleveland Trade?
Well we may have possibly just seen the biggest trade in the NBA in the last decade and it has come between the two teams that made the Eastern Conference Finals just last season. As expected there are an unimaginable amount of conversations going on about who won the trade? And did Boston give up too much? Let’s break the trade down and see who the real winner and loser is.

For those who are not aware the Boston Celtics gave up Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and Brooklyn’s 2018 first rounder for Kyrie Irving and at first glance I thought this may have been too much. However, I think this may be one of those rare situations where neither team got the bad end of the bargain and there really are no losers, just winners.
This is a very emotional trade for Celtic fans. Although Thomas has only been in Boston for about two and a half seasons he became a folk hero and was an idol for many young kids. I’m sure this trade hurts. Isaiah gave everything he had to the Celtics. He became an All-Star and an MVP candidate with them and he also played hurt throughout most of the playoffs this season and yet he’s gone, just like that. That’s sports for you, it’s brutal.

I think there is no doubt that Kyrie Irving is a better player than Thomas and has a higher upside especially with Isaiah being a little older and coming off a serious hip injury, the question is, is Irving a better team player, leader and teammate than Thomas? Can Irving gel with other players considering the style of basketball he plays. Only time will tell.
Obviously, the Celtics will miss the presence of Jae Crowder although it may not be as big a loss as some may think. Crowder had a down last year, he didn’t shoot the three-ball as well as he did in past years and it really showed in the playoffs. His defense also took a hit last season and he was no longer the physical wing defender that Boston needed him to be. The Celtics will be hoping that Jaylen Brown steps up this season to take the place of Crowder, which so far Brown has shown he has the potential to do this. I think there is no doubt that Brown has a lot more upside than Crowder does and with Lebron still in the East for now, there is no reason why the Celtics shouldn’t try and get younger and give these young players more playing time.
Ante Zizic is an unknown quantity at this point in time. The rookie who just came over from Croatia played in a few summer league games for the Celtics and looked neither good or bad. He could turn out to be a very good player and this part of the trade does weaken Boston’s frontcourt depth which is something they will definitely have to address as the season begins.
The real lynch pin of this trade is the Brooklyn Nets’ first round pick for next year’s draft. Brooklyn overhauled their roster this summer adding players like D’Angelo Russell, Allen Crabbe, Demarre Carroll and Timofey Mozgov. Now sure this team isn’t good but they will definitely be better than last year’s team. The Nets also have no reason to tank because their pick is now in the hands of Cleveland where as there are other teams around the league that have a bit of a different outlook. This pick may not even end up being top five and in a draft that is reportedly top heavy this could be bad news for Cleveland.
On the brighter side, the Cleveland Cavaliers have just received a top player that had one of the most efficient scoring seasons by a guard of all time, a hard-nosed wing who can spot up and defend, a young rookie big man who has potential and a pick that may very well land in the top three. If you ask me that is a pretty good haul for a guy that made it very clear he wanted to leave.
Thomas is a very similar player to Irving on the offensive end so fitting him into the system will not be a problem. The only worry the Cavs should have is about Thomas’ health. Isaiah suffered a very serious hip injury late in last season’s playoffs that has ended a lot of player’s careers and the Cavaliers must be patient and allow Thomas to heal fully.
Another positive For Cleveland is the pick that they received. There could be an opportunity for the Cavaliers during the season to trade that pick away for another piece to bolster their championship crusade. With rumours that Dwyane Wade is coming to Cleveland after a potential buyout with the Bulls we can only wonder if there another certain member of the banana boat crew that might be looking for a way out of their current situation. There are a large range of options that the Cavaliers could pursue but they have done very well to get the return they did for Kyrie Irving.

As I said earlier I really don’t think there are any losers in this trade. Both teams are in just as good, maybe even better positions than they were before the trade and it is sure going to be interesting to watch them go toe to toe on opening night and hopefully in the Eastern Conference Finals.
