With all the talk surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason, a lot of people expected that All-star Point Guard Kyrie Irving would be traded. However, no one outside the organization knew when a trade was going to go down because the Cavaliers lost almost all their leverage due to Irving's demands leaking to the media.
Cavaliers' offseason
The Cavaliers have had quite an interesting offseason. It all started with the agreement to release General Manager David Griffin which resulted in internal turmoil caused by the said move. After LeBron James voiced out his opinion on the matter, everyone knew that something was not right within the organization.
The organization still made the headlines after they signed former NBA MVP Derrick Rose to a one year, $2.1 million guaranteed contract.They also signed notable role players in point guard Jose Calderon and forward Jeff Green.
Then the "Kyrie Irving drama" surfaced when Kyrie asked the Cavs front office to trade him to another team. Playing under the shadow of LeBron James was one of the main reasons behind his request. According to ESPN, Irving also said that he wanted to play a bigger role for a team.
Celtics' offseason
The Boston Celtics also had a good offseason so far. The Celtics drafted Duke forward Jayson Tatum third overall in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Tatum performed well in the 2017 NBA summer league.
He opened the tournament with a 21-point performance and built from there. He averaged 17.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in the NBA summer league.
The Celtics also won the Gordon Hayward sweepstakes. Hayward agreed to a $128 million deal over four years with Boston after spending his last seven seasons with the Utah Jazz.
He averaged 21.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.3 blocks last season with the Jazz
This week, the two teams shocked the NBA Universe after the Cavaliers agreed to send All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving to the Celtics in exchange for point guard isaiah thomas, forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Net's unprotected first-round draft pick.
Irving was instrumental in the Cavaliers' 2016 NBA title after he made a big three late in the game, clinching the NBA Championship.
Isaiah Thomas was also one of the main reasons for the Celtics success last season. Thomas led Boston to a Conference best 53-29 record, before losing in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
After the trade, LeBron James tweeted out that he had nothing but respect for Kyrie and was thankful for the three-year run that they had together in Cleveland. Celtics' General Manager Danny Ainge was also bittersweet with Thomas, Crowder, and Zizic's departure. He said that he was sad to see them leave and was thankful for their contributions to the organization. He was also very happy and excited for Irving's arrival to Boston.
