After days of uncertainty, the trade deal involving Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics has finally been completed. All it takes is for the Celtics to include the 2020 second-round draft pick which they got from the Miami Heat and the deal is done.

“The trade is now complete,” the two teams said in a joint statement. Thus, we move to the most important post-trade question -- how can these two superstars help their new teams in their quest to make the NBA Finals and the hope of bringing home the Larry O’Brien championship trophy?

Kyrie to wear No. 11

Kyrie registered his career-best 25.2 points per game last regular season. Somehow, he managed to increase his output to 25.9ppg in the playoffs -- 29.4ppg during the NBA Finals. And that’s while playing alongside LeBron James and Kevin Love. No wonder the Boston Celtics wanted Kyrie so bad they decide to give another draft pick.

Looking at the picture posted by Boston on Twitter, Kyrie will be using No. 11 -- his father’s jersey number when the elder Irving played for Boston University. Plus, Red Auerbach’s No. 2 is already retired by the Celtics.

The new Boston Celtics look

With the trade finally completed, Al Horford became the only holdover from last season’s starting lineup. Kyrie, together with Gordon Hayward and Marcus Morris, will take Nos. 1, 3 and 4 spots, respectively. However, the shooting guard post remains a toss-up between Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown.

Curiously, the Celtics’ new roster has the capability to go big on defense or play smaller yet faster lineup.

The question is whether they can surpass the 53 wins last season that earned them the top seed in the East.

The same player again

According to Isaiah, not one doctor has told him that his hip injury would greatly impact his career. And so, he is looking forward to playing again this coming season. Isaiah promised that “I'm going to be the same player again.”

However, Isaiah doesn’t want to force himself into making it during the Cavaliers’ first game of the season where they will host the Celtics.

He doesn’t want to give any timeframe as to when he’ll be able to play. Still, the Cavs fans can’t wait for Isaiah’s fast recovery in the hopes of seeing him play alongside LeBron James.

Cleveland point guard problems

While Isaiah is on the road to recovery from his hip injury, Derrick Rose remains the presumptive starting point guard of the Cavaliers. However, that will also depend on his performance at the training camp whether or not he has fully recovered from his injury. Remember, D-Rose is coming off a knee surgery after tearing the meniscus in his left knee late last season.

Good thing, Cavs head coach Ty Lue transitioned Iman Shumpert as a backup point guard last season. Plus they have veteran point guard Jose Calderon, and sophomore Kay Felder -- that’s if he’s not going to be cut off from the final roster.
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