After adding a 2020 second-round pick to sweeten the trade deal, the Boston Celtics are finally getting Kyrie Irving, while Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder are headed with a host of other assets to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Thomas played a playoff game the day after he heard the crushing news that his sister had died. He then injured his hip and played the rest of the playoffs through a major injury. All of this after Thomas put together an All-Star season, averaging 28 points per game. He also averaged a shade over 10 points per game in the fourth quarter, and, in the last three months of the season, was one of the best offensive players in the league as the Celtics pushed for the number one seed.
And the Celtics traded him.
They had an injured point guard they did not want to pay after next season, and Irving’s departure from Cleveland would be weakening their biggest roadblock in the East, so they made the trade. The Celtics are not evil or backstabbing. This is a business, and it is a cutthroat one.
It is time for fans to stop with the nonsense. Stop burning jerseys, stop accusing players of chasing rings or money like it is a bad thing, stop acting like the player should think of his team first in free agency, and do not pretend that this is a one-way street.
Organizations are going to do what they think is best for the team, and so should the players. Once the player figures out if he wants to go for a championship or a contract, there is no reason he should not be able to try and reach that goal in free agency. It is time to be done hating on players like Kevin Durant or Ray Allen.
There is always talk about how young players and new professionals need to learn how to grow up and mature. So, too, do NBA fans, because this is a cutthroat business, where even a fan favorite can be traded. It is time to get back to enjoying a team for the team and a player for the player and realizing that they are joined — but also separate them while both are trying to find success.
