Celtics Get Their Star, Cavs Get Insurance, The NBA Gets Another Win.
Two nights (now weeks) ago word got out that the Cleveland Cavaliers had agreed to send Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, and the rights to the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first round-draft pick (and now, a 2020 second round pick via Miami Heat).
Let’s just push the bologna, the malarkey, and the hoopla all to the side and get straight to the thick of this. I’m sick and tired of all of the “who won the trade” talk being choked to death by every mainstream sports handle you can find. Let’s stop pretending anyone in the world (sub those who own Kyrie/Cavs and IT/Celtics jerseys) lost anything in this trade.
For the NBA and its fans, this trade means another storyline to build upon, one of incredibly convenient timing for a conference that prior to this move had no real rivalries, only three of the top fifteen players in the league, and was prepared to lean on the storylines featuring — the young and fun 76er’s (if they can stay healthy), the ‘Last Chance LeBrons’ in Cleveland, the Melo-Knicks Saga, the Wizards borderline elite team-level, and the phony, continuous, naive talks of the Celtics chances of dark horsing Cleveland and advancing to the Finals.
Most of these storylines will still follow suit, only now, with the added beef of an actual rivalry. Not only is this a serious motivational-boost for LeBron and the entire Cavaliers organization to NOT allow a team with their former second-best player and number-one overall-pick to advance past them, preventing LeBron James from representing the eastern conference in the NBA Finals for the first time this decade. It’s also a chance for Kyrie to show the entire world what he’s really made of. This is an opportunity for Kyrie to assume the sort of responsibility and leadership that he would never be able to claim playing alongside LeBron James.
Boston and Kyrie’s path towards becoming mutually beneficial is notable, as the Celtics and Kyrie were effectively looking for each other — Kyrie get’s the opportunity to truly lead a competitive team that has the base structure to stay that way for the next ten years. — The Celtics get their all-NBA talent, and now have two all stars/Team USA teammates under twenty-seven years old, two top-three picks named Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, two of the best-young versatile players in the league, a legitimately great screen setting and court spreading center in Al Horford, and a coach/GM combination that is as good as any league-wide.
Isaiah Thomas gets a fair deal out of this too. There’s no bad blood because everyone understands everyone in this deal. Isaiah understands that Danny Ainge had no intent on paying Isaiah max money — something he notably said he thought he would command. He also understands that he’s not only still in a position to compete, but this ensuing year will probably be the best chance he gets in his career to play a meaningful role in a team with a legitimate chance to win the NBA Finals (chance by participation). After that, he has the same flexibility to do anything he wants, and is not tied down to a Cleveland team that may lose LeBron James if they fail to win.
There’s also a chance that if LeBron chose to leave, Cleveland would turn their attention towards Isaiah and offer him a max contract as a way of saving face with their fan-base and remaining relatively competitive in a now all time bad eastern conference. That’s the beauty of this trade. It gives Cleveland a level of ‘LBJ-exit Insurance’ in the form of Brooklyn’s (imminent?) top ten 2018 first round pick, as well as Jae Crowders incredibly team-friendly contract with two years still remaining.
LeBron wins because this team is now better built to compete with The Warriors. I know that might sound crazy, but I seriously believe that. The Cavs were never going to beat this team with the conventional-on ball dominant group of players. Sure, Isaiah is a similar player to Kyrie in that he is best when on the ball, and worst when having to defend anyone (literally), but he has experience playing in a Brad Stevens system that sent him off of tons of off-ball screens, while also being primarily being based on a pass and move style offense. I think Isaiah will actually be around as good of an offensive player for the Cavs as Irving was. Jae Crowder will provide huge minutes as a swing man and backup to LeBron James, and can be a huge help on the defensive end vs the Warriors versatile lineups. While no one will talk about Ante Zizic, he will very likely make this Cavs roster and earn minutes as a backup center. The added depth, in my opinion, gives the Cavaliers a better chance to win than a team more dependent on less players, as was the case last year.
Sometimes the truth is a good enough story to run without creating all the BS drama that has to come along with every major change in sports, pop-culture, etc. The truth is, this trade is great for everyone, and I couldn’t be more excited for the upcoming NBA season. Thank you to all parties involved!
