After a quiet couple of weeks, the Kyrie Irving trade discussions have resurfaced. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been receiving low-ball offers thus far, but they have remained engaged with several teams.
Two Eastern Conference powerhouses talking huge trade
The Boston Celtics have now become the latest team to actively engage the Cavaliers in trade discussions. According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, the two teams are currently discussing a trade centered on All-Stars Irving and Isaiah Thomas.
The Celtics have always had an interest in Irving, but Cleveland’s asking price has been steep, which has prevented Boston from making an Irving deal.
However, the Celtics have always favored Irving’s contract, which is still the old max deal, over Thomas’ expiring deal, which will demand a new max contract next summer.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Cavaliers and Celtics are actually nearing a deal that would send Irving to Boston for Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and possible draft picks. If this deal does happen, the Celtics would be grateful to not involve promising rookie Jayson Tatum and second-year man Jaylen Brown. Its been Boston’s goal to keep both guys on the team to fully develop them.
How will each player benefit these teams?
Both Thomas and Irving are known as score-first point guards. The major difference between the two is that Thomas is much smaller and not as dominant as Irving is.
However, both players are equally lackadaisical on the defensive end. Another area where Irving has the upper hand is that he has won a championship ring in Cleveland, which means he has had tremendous playoff experience. Boston believes that Irving would take them over the top with his offensive skills, leadership, and playoff experience.
The most interesting part of the trade is that Boston and Cleveland were the top two teams in the East last season, as the two teams battled in the Conference Finals. If Irving lands in Boston, his old team will be the only thing standing in his way in terms of leading the Celtics to the Finals, as he will have to go against former teammate LeBron James.
The Celtics did add Gordon Hayward this offseason through free agency, at the expense of losing defensive ace Avery Bradley. However, they drafted well enough and developed their young talent enough to have a great supporting cast waiting for Irving if he joins them. Since the talks are very serious at this point, a deal could be done within the coming days -- or even hours.
