Who Really Won in the Kyrie Irving Trade?

The most talked about trade of the off season is finally complete. So… who won?

So Kyrie Irving is going to Boston. Most fans were surprised since the analysts on ESPN were busy drooling over whether he should play for San Antonio or not. Boston made a smart decision here. Boston traded Isaiah Thomas, who is currently suffering from a hip injury, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and a first and second round pick all to Cleveland for Kyrie. Many people have said Boston traded so much just for Kyrie.

Well…..yeah.

Any team would have to. Kyrie is going to be the leader in Boston. Any general manager in the NBA would give their right arm to have him. There is some speculation that Kyrie is “hyped up” and will under perform in Boston. Kyrie over the past two years has easily become one of, if not the best, point guards in the league. He was shadowed by Lebron James a bit on the Cavaliers, but now he has a chance to show he is a leader and can do what needs to be done for the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics came in to this offseason with sub-par talent but still managed to finish second to the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals. After aquiring Gordon Hayward, drafting rookie sensation Jayson Tatum, and trading for Kyrie Irving, Boston is stacked. The Celtics did have to give up Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, and Jae Crowder, but they got an upgrade for each of those players. The biggest loss of the trade with Cleveland might be losing the potential 2018 #1 overall pick, but that is a risk you take for a superstar.

Yes, Isaiah Thomas is a superstar. Yes, Kyrie wanted to leave. However, Isaiah Thomas may not be ready for the season opener which leaves Derrick Rose to run the show, and Rose may have the worst injury history of all time. Jae Crowder is a great asset. Crowder is a lock-down defender and will be someone who takes pressure off of the beloved Lebron James. The Cavs gained two draft picks. The potential #1 pick and a second rounder. They better hope they don’t draft another Anthony Bennett. Lastly, the Cavs got Ante Zizic who is an investment for a team who is wanting to win NOW.

The Cavs traded away their best point guard in hope that they get a healthy point guard to replace Kyrie, and they got exactly what they didn’t need. Isaiah Thomas is a fantastic player, but no one wants an injury prone superstar on their team. The Cavs do have the firepower to recover if Isaiah goes down with another injury, but no one wants another San Antonio Spurs incident.

This was when Kawhi Leonard stepped on the continental sized foot of Zaza Pachulia and tweaked his already injured ankle. The incident became the turning point in the Warriors vs Spurs series and eventually end of the Spurs playoff run as he did not return for the rest of the series. The Spurs are no where near as stacked as the Cavs, but you never know. Hennything is possible with J.R. Smith on your roster.

So in the end, Boston has a stacked roster, Cavs are riddled with injuries, and only the regular season will tell us the outcome.