NBA: Kyrie Irving Gets His Wish
Kyrie Irving may have finally gotten his wish. According to reports, Irving has officially been traded to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the coveted Brooklyn Nets 2018 first-round pick.
That leads to the saying, “Be careful what you wish for." Irving may have stepped out of the shadow of LeBron James but he may have also stepped into an even larger one. The Celtics are one of the most storied franchises in all of sports and they also hold a league-best, 17 championships.
The pressure of playing in Boston and to compete for a championship will be extraordinarily high. However, by trading away two of their most valuable assets, in Crowder and the 2018 pick, it’s extremely hard to not feel as though the Celtics didn't completely drop the ball on what could've been going into the 2017-2018 season.
Boston missed out on a perfect opportunity to add either Paul George or Jimmy Butler, all while still having the ability to sign Gordon Hayward as a free agent. Boston's general manager, Danny Ainge, has stockpiled so many assets over the years and by also making smart contractual decisions, that the Celtics were essentially in the best position in the league from a current and future standpoint.
As they say, hindsight is 20/20, despite almost innumerable assets, Boston is basically in the same position as before; the second best team in the Eastern Conference. They still have not done anything about their glaring rebounding and interior defensive problems and let's not forget, James is still the best player in the NBA.
There are a few reports floating around that suggest that James is as good as gone following the conclusion of the 2018 season. To help ease the transition, the Cavs now have Brooklyn’s 2018 first round pick. It will be interesting to see if Cleveland trades the pick away to entice James to stay or to keep the pick, to ensure the Cavs remain relevant once James decides to leave.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have also solved some of their luxury tax issues by taking on the combination of Thomas, Crowder and Zizic's contracts. By today's standards, both Crowder and Thomas, are severely underpaid while Zizic is still on his rookie deal.
Cleveland once had the highest payroll in the league but with this trade, they will be saving $19 million in taxes by going from $78.4 million to a $59.2 million tax bill, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN.
With the addition of Crowder, the Cavs bolstered their bench defensively and will still retain their iso-heavy offense with Thomas swapping places for Kyrie Irving. However, the opposing team’s backcourt eyes will light up with joy if ever Derrick Rose and Thomas are on the court at the same time.
Irving is one the most gifted offensive players in the league, while Thomas is without a doubt, The Association's best player under six feet. Despite that, in terms of production, Irving and Thomas aren't that much different, sans championship experience. The Celtics gave away value while essentially getting a carbon copy in return.
It's not all bad, though. Ainge is still in an envious situation and Irving is arguably a top-10 player that may very well succeed where Thomas failed. Irving also has two years left with a player option, while Thomas is a soon-to-be free agent who will demand a max contract. It's safe to assume, Ainge did not want to pay Thomas what he feels he deserves, which is what this trade may have boiled down to.
Boston received a similar player, who they get to keep for an additional year to add to their strong core, plus they won't have to spend a ridiculous amount of money to do so. Cleveland also received a similar player, strengthened their bench, added to their future and softened the luxury tax.
The Cavs also no longer have to worry about the Irving headlines which dominated the summer. He will be the number one option in Boston, that's a given. Playing alongside Hayward should be much easier in that regard, however, James won't be there to help when things get difficult.
From Kyrie’s perspective, that's more than okay with him. Kyrie just wanted to get the chance to prove he should be casting a shadow of his own. Hopefully looking up at 17 championship banners in the TD Garden won't be too intimidating.
Photo Credit: NBA.com and Yahoo! Sports.
