The Cleveland Cavaliers finally get Kyrie Irving out of town by sending him to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the 2018 Brooklyn Nets’ first-round pick. It’s not hard to see the power shifting away from the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference.
Why to like the trade
Minnesota Timberwolves fans should love the trade, along with Boston Celtics fans. While a draft pick was exchanged, the Celtics did not have to give up their prized youth in Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown. Sticking with Andrew Wiggins is vindicated by a team choosing to give up more assets instead of young players with high upside.
For Celtics fans, this is huge because they have now upgraded at two positions in a big way. They swapped Crowder with All-Star forward Gordon Hayward and Isaiah Thomas with four-time All-Star point guard Irving. Irving is a fantastic offensive weapon who can slash to the basket, forcing teams onto their heels with his ability to drive to the rim while leaving broken ankles in his wake. He can also kill opposing defenses from outside and is a great perimeter shooter. He will also be able to thrive in a system that runs the offense through the point guard position, taking the No. 1 role.
The reason this starts to tilt the power into the Celtics favor is that this team continually adds All-Star talent without sacrificing their depth. The Cavaliers still have the best player in the world in LeBron James, but the players around him are getting to be less and less impressive. While the Brooklyn pick will give them fresh, top-tier youth that they have desperately needed, they now have another player on a one-year deal (Thomas). They still have no idea what James will do and were unable to get out from under the Tristan Thompson contract. Boston has brought in the perfect mix of youth and established production because of their ability to turnover assets and not stay wedded to players for too long.
Why to dislike the trade
Admittedly this is a hard position to take, because the Cavaliers seemed to get as much as they could for the 25-year-old guard since he has been shopped for some time. On Boston’s side of this, there is a risk factor since Irving has said he will not guarantee resigning with the team he is traded to once his two-year deal is up.
Therefore, until further notice, the assumption is the Celtics are playing with a two-year window to make a title run with this squad. While it seems like a mild bet, if they do get bounced from postseason play by Irving’s former team and never make an NBA Finals appearance, the Celtics then have traded away a top-three pick for a new player who is just passing through.
Overall takeaways
Even with some risk, the Celtics are betting on getting a ring in a two-year span while still sitting on three young studs. They also have a Los Angeles Lakers pick that will keep fresh talent coming in yet again. The risk is there, but the system the Celtics have in place is solid enough to keep them out of any real harm. This is a great deal for the Boston team that has been sitting on the edge of the best teams in the league and may have just joined the club.
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