The Irving-Thomas trade is Catastrophic. Let’s decompress.
It’s hard to imagine Kyrie Irving not with the Cavaliers. It’s equally hard to imagine Isaiah Thomas not with the Celtics. Catastrophic trades like this don’t happen often in the NBA, but when they do, crap gets broke and dismantled until we’re able to put our minds around what has occurred. Despite how crazy this seems now, the Irving-Thomas deal might end up being one of the fairest trades in NBA history (Jae Crowder is the extra bonus for Cleveland).
Dynamic scorer for dynamic scorer. Floor general for floor general. Flat Earth leftist for a dude who once lost his front tooth and laughed it off. Two of the best point guards in the game, and two rival Eastern Conference teams scratching for more titles. Flip your wig.
After I was able to catch my breath, I started thinking of the loudest trades in NBA history: Jason Kidd to the Nets, sending Stephon Marbury to the Suns in 2001; Alex English to the Nuggets, sending George McGinnis to the Pacers in 1980; Jermaine O’Neal to the Pacers in 2000; Chris Paul to the Clippers (Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman) in 2011; DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans from the Kings in February; Charles Barkley to the Suns, sending Jeff Hornacek to the Sixers in 1992; Chris Webber to the Kings, shipping Mitch Richmond to the Wizards in 1998; and, most recently, Chris Paul packed up his assets for the Houston Rockets. But considering the current state of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics, and the impact that Thomas and Irving have on the entire landscape of the NBA, this is probably the biggest trade in league history.
Who won the trade, you ask? We won’t know for a couple of years. If LeBron James leaves Cleveland after the 2018 season…yeah, not good. Here are the career statistical lines for Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas:
Irving: 381 games, 21.6 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per game, and 5.5 assists per game with a shooting percentage of 45.7.
Thomas: 441 games, 19.1 points per game, 2.6 rebounds per game, and 5.2 assists per game with a shooting percentage of 44.3.
Arguably, 2016–17 was the best season for both Thomas and Irving; Thomas averaged almost four points more (28.9) than Irving (25.2) per game. Although, Thomas did not share the court with LeBron James. The Celtics would have been depleted without Thomas; the Cavs might have been OK without Irving. Now, Irving gets to ball with an underrated Gordon Hayward, and James gets to have fun with Thomas, who is the slickest player in the league. Boston also has Al Horford, Marcus Smart, Marcus Morris, Jaylen Brown, and rookie sensation Jayson Tatum; Cleveland has Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert, and an unproven Derrick Rose. Man, I hate this trade, but I’m going to end up liking it at some point.
Celtics fandom aside, Irving will blossom further. He already has the smoothest jumper, and some of the lay ups he scores seem impossible. Thomas should also progress with the Cavaliers’ supporting cast, most notably King James, who usually makes other superstars better. If Boston and Cleveland don’t square off in the Eastern Finals again, then what are we doing? It should be weird.
The part I have trouble understanding: why move? Irving and Thomas were leaders on teams that continue to scale upwards, and the players seemed comfortable. Well, until Irving became a huge drama queen and requested a trade. Dude, you went to three straight NBA Finals with Cleveland and won a championship; you probably had a favorable chance to play for another title in 2018. Now, Boston has to get passed Cleveland; not sure it will. This is a mind-boggling trade that lives in infamy.
Jae Crowder is hidden in plain sight. He deserves to start for the Cavaliers, and could be the piece that gives Cleveland the edge. Regardless, Kyrie Irving for Isaiah Thomas is madness, pure calamity. The Celtics and Cavs play three times next season, including game one of 82 on October 17 on TNT. There will be blood.
