The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled the trigger on Tuesday night. After a month of tension between the organization and star point guard Kyrie Irving, the team shipped him to the Boston Celtics. It's always challenging to grade out trades until some time has passed and people acclimate to their new franchises. The immediate reaction, however, as to greatly favor the Cavaliers as bandits who made out with a ransom in a situation where they lacked leverage.
What the Cavaliers lost
Well, for one, the Cavaliers lost Irving. That's no small loss for the defending Eastern Conference champions.
He's one of the best point guards in the NBA, especially when it comes to finding ways to score. He was tasked with starting the next era of Cleveland basketball after LeBron James' departure, though he didn't get very far until James returned. Nevertheless, something was linking the player and team inextricably for all time.
But the team also lost a headache that Irving became over the past month. His private trade demand became public four weeks ago, since threatening to tear apart the Cavaliers. He reportedly either didn't want to play with James or was concerned that James would bolt after next season, issues that were at odds with one another. Either way, Cleveland doesn't need to be team turmoil anymore, a state of oblivion they were falling into in large part due to Irving.
What the Cavaliers gained
The biggest prize for the Cavaliers in this trade was All-Star Isaiah Thomas. He is dealing with a hip injury and is in a contract year, but in a straight comparison from last season, he had a better year than Irving did (though both leave something to be desired on defense). Thomas has always been the kind of player who has performed better with a chip on his shoulder; this trade will leave something much greater than a chip on his shoulder.
Cleveland also gains an underrated starting forward in Jae Crowder, an intriguing 20-year old prospect in Ante Zizic, and the Brooklyn Nets' unprotected first-round draft pick for 2018, which will likely end up being one of the top selections in the draft. In other words, this trade may have improved the team in the present, and it improved the team for the future. Irving was an integral part of the team's first championship run, but he made it clear that he was done in Cleveland - a rookie general manager made sure that the team got a hefty haul out of him.
