Stop it Cavs. You Already Won the Kyrie Trade
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Last week I was so focused on football, I did write about the Kyrie Irving to Boston trade, but now that I have gotten to stew in it, and with the newer news of the Cavs possibly looking for further compensation due to Isaish Thomas' hip injury, I have some more thoughts about the deal.
First off, I think the deal is going to get done no matter what. I do not see anyway that Irving is not wearing a Celtics jersey in October, and same for Thomas and Crowder in a Cavs jersey. There are far too many fractured relationships with players and teams now. Thomas was hurt by Boston. They just offloaded him like nothing. This was a prime example of sports being a business. Crowder is probably happy to be gone since his name was ALWAYS brought up in trade rumors for the past couple seasons. I don't know how he ever felt comfortable playing there the past couple years. Irving wanted out of Cleveland, and he wanted out bad.
Second off, while playing the best basketball of his career the past three seasons, he never really seemed happy playing sidekick to LeBron. He wanted out and he wanted to be "the man". I'm sure he was sick of always being publicly called out by LeBron and he probably feels like Kevin Durant did last year. He wants to get out, find a change of scenery, and he has won a title in Cleveland already. What else does he have to prove there? Why should he still play second fiddle to the best player in the game right now? Why can't he leave like so many other players do all the time? Why does he get chastised more than KD did last year? Irving didn't go to the Warriors, he got traded to the Celtics. He didn't go to a front runner, even though the Celtics were the top seed last year in the East. I'm pretty sure everyone would put the Celtics as maybe the fourth or fifth best team in the NBA. And if you aren't the Warriors or Cavs, you won't really matter for the next year or two. So no, I hold no ill will towards Irving wanting out. I think it is insane because he will not be making long, deep playoff runs anymore, but so be it. He wants to run a team, and as soon as this trade gets finalized, he will get his wish.
Speaking of the deal getting finalized, the Cavs knew about Thomas' hip injury. The Celtics were very forward about this injury prior to making the deal. The Cavs already fleeced the Celtics once, by getting them to give up the Nets pick, Thomas, Crowder and Zizic, but now they want Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown to complete the deal? Get out of here. I do like the Celtics coming back and saying that they will not part with another player, especially one of their younger players, instead only offering a second round pick. That should be more than enough for the Cavs to make the deal. What would they do with a Tatum or Brown if they got one of them? They already have a solid starting 5, and better veterans coming off the bench. If Brown or Tatum were to be traded to the Cavs, they would relegated to the end of the bench. They'd be lucky to get 10 minutes a game. That is not good for their development, and I feel like they would become journeyman players that play for a bunch of teams. Going to the Cavs would stunt their development. LeBron has made it very widely known over the past three years that he doesn't like playing with rookies or second year players. This may have been a demand due to the possibility of LeBron leaving, but it would waste a year of growth for one of these guys. This is most likely LeBron's last year in Cleveland, so why do they want a Tatum or a Brown? As I have already stated, they have a solid starting 5 with Thomas taking over the point guard duties from Kyrie, JR Smith at the 2, Crowder at the 3, LeBron at the 4 and either Love or Tristan Thompson at the 5. Then, coming off the bench, lets say Thompson starts, they have Love, Kyle Korver, Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert, if they keep him. I'm sure the Cavs are also making some calls around to see if they can get another veteran to come aboard. So add either a Brown or Tatum to this team and they are, at best, the 9th guy on the bench. The Cavs don't need that, and neither do Brown and Tatum. The Cavs are getting a bit too cocky by asking for these guys. I think they should just take the deal as is, but if they want more, take the second round pick. Or, ask for a Terry Rozier or the French kid they took last year in the late first round. Don't ask for the past 2 number 3 overall picks. That is way too much, especially when they already acquired a ton in the first deal.
The trade as is still sits strongly in the Cavs favor. I'm sure that Thomas may miss a little time at the start of the year, but that will not affect the Cavs much, if at all. LeBron will still run the team, as he has for the past 3 years. Crowder makes them so much better defensively too. The Nets pick gives them leverage and an asset for a trade, or they can keep it if LeBron does leave, and use that as the building block for next year. The Cavs already won this trade once, they don't need to rub it in by asking for 2 young players that have tremendous potential. Just take the deal as is and be happy with how much better the team will be with Thomas and Crowder and by offloading an unhappy guy that doesn't want to be there. There is no reason the Celtics need to give up one of those young guys, and the Cavs asking for one of them is a baller move, but it is also a bit too cocky from there side as well. We will have to see what happens.
But as I said at the top, I think this deal will get done by taking the first offer, or getting the second round pick along with their original haul, and just being happy with that. Either way, Irving will be a Celtic and Thomas and Crowder will be Cavs when the season starts in October. You can count on 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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