Now that Kyrie has been Traded, Who Will Lose to the Warriors Next Season?

Last night, on my way to play basketball, the news rang out on my phone that Kyrie Irving had been traded. Since I was driving, I didn't check until I got to the gym who he was traded to. I figured it was either the Knicks or the Spurs since those are the only 2 teams I had really heard anything from since Kyrie demanded a trade. When I parked, I stopped to look at my phone and saw he had been traded to the Celtics.

I was shocked. I didn't even think they were a serious contender for Kyrie. I heard people say this as a possibility, but most people brushed it off saying that the Celtics would have to give up too much to get Kyrie. I agreed with those people. But, he was traded to the Celtics.

So, I clicked on the story to see what the Celtics had to give up. I didn't know who it was going to be, but I was almost certain that the name Isaish Thomas wasn't going to be included. He had become a folk hero of sorts for that team last year. Everyone in Boston loved him, and he loved them in return. Remember, he was openly recruiting guys to come play there. So, I assumed it was going to be the young Celtics and some picks. I figured a Nets pick and guys like Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum.

Well, the Nets pick was in the trade, unprotected I might add. Then I saw the other names. The Celtics gave up Ante Zizic, okay, Jae Crowder, he has been mentioned in trades for a couple year snow, and much to my surprise, Isaish Thomas. I was floored. I could not believe what the Celtics gave up to get Kyrie, and I was floored that they gave up Thomas. Zizic, Crowder and the pick, fine. That's expected. But, to give up Thomas, man, sports are brutal. It is amazing how brutal sports can be. Thomas was the best player for the number one seed in the East last year. He played hurt, hard, with a heavy heart and he put up tremendous numbers every night. And the Celtics just up and traded him for Kyrie Irving. Again, I was floored.

Then, after a couple hours of basketball, a nights sleep and thinking about it this morning and this afternoon, I looked more into the basketball aspect of the trade. I've got to say, after a little less than 24 hours of contemplating the trade, I feel like the Cavs won the deal, and they won big. Yes, Kyrie Irving is a tremendous, often dazzling scorer, but that is all he brings to Boston. That, and his very popular shoes. But what the Celtics had to give up was just astonishing. I'll get to that in a minute. I started to think about this new Celtics team, and they lost about 60 to 70 percent of their core from a 50 plus win, Eastern Conference Finals appearance last year. Yeah they still have Al Horford, but the other four starters, Amir Johnson, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and Isaish Thomas, all of them are gone. They have to replace 80 percent of their starting 5. And I know that Amir Johnson was not great, but they also lost Kelly Olynk this offseason and replaced him with Aron Baynes. The Celtics are going to look totally different. Also, we will finally see how Brad Stevens does with a super star that wants to shoot and shoot and shoot. Stevens has kind of been given carte blanche because no one expected much from this team, and then they started to win. Now, he has big egos and big contracts to deal with. They will trot out a starting five of Kyrie, probably Baynes or the Morris twin they got, Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford. I like the first starting five I mentioned much more. And for the people who think this will push them past Cleveland, slow your roll. The Cavs still have LeBron, and they got 2 of the Celtics five starters.

In fact, lets now look at exactly why I think the Cavs won this trade big. They had to give up Kyrie, and while that stinks, he was disgruntled, sick of being the little brother to LeBron and wanted to be the focal point of a team. If they had kept him, he would have been unhappy, and that could have affected his play. They don't have to worry about that now. The fact that they got Isaish Thomas is flat out amazing to me. He can replace a big, big chunk of the scoring that Irving will leave behind. He is also much better off the ball. Thomas can move off screens and float around the perimeter and hit open shots and get to the basket. I feel like he is going to love playing basketball with LeBron James. Also, he won't take any of the passive aggressive bull shit that LeBron always trots out there. If LeBron tries to subtweet him or say something about the "team", but it is really about Thomas, he will call him out. LeBron has never really had a teammate that would stand up to him but Thomas will, and I think it will benefit both players. Then we have Crowder. Sure, he isn't the defender that he was a couple years ago, but he is a hell of a lot better than anyone that the Cavs have, except for LeBron. Crowder will at least make opposing small forwards think about some shots that they freely got against other Cavs small forwards last year. He can also play small ball 4 if need be. He can also hit open threes. He is a much better Channing Frye, and Frye has been pretty decent since being traded to Cleveland. Crowder is also a much better option than Kyle Korver in big playoff games. Where Korver looked scared to shoot in the Finals last year, Crowder won't have that hesistation. Zizic is a salary dump I assume, so no need to talk about him. The Nets pick, which I say again is unprotected, can be used for a lot of things. If the Cavs think they can keep LeBron, they can trade it for a vet or someone that fits their system. If he does leave, it looks like he is halfway out the door, they can keep it and rebuild with a top ten pick in next year's draft. It is a win win. So, while the Celtics got a big name in a big market, the Cavs added depth and some much needed defense to their team.

To finish this all out, this trade will have no real affect in the outcome of next year unless the Warriors have a catastrophic injury. They are still the best team by a wide margin in the NBA. They will most likely face the Cavs in the finals again, and if that happens, maybe this trade makes it go 6, but still probably 5 or, even more likely, a sweep. While Crowder and James can play defense, they will not be nearly enough to stop the Warriors. Love, Tristan Thompson, JR Smith, Derrick Rose, Thomas and anyone else they throw out there will get torched by the Warriors. And, if the Celtics somehow magically get to the Finals against the Warriors, that will definitely be a sweep. No one on the Celtics now can stop anyone on the Warriors. They are not even close to the same level as the Warriors.

The big deal happened, and I think the Cavs won it by a mile, but the Warriors will still be, barring any major injury, your 2017-18 NBA champs, and it won't even be close. At least the NBA is giving us some great stories during the boring time between the NBA Finals and football kicking off though. I am very grateful for that.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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