The most-awaited trade has finally happened -- Kyrie Irving will be joining Gordon Hayward, Al Horford, and the Boston Celtics in the coming 2017-18 NBA Season. In a sudden twist of events, the Cleveland Cavaliers finally heed to Kyrie’s request for a trade as he no longer wants to play behind the shadows of LeBron James.
After his request to be traded went public, 20 NBA teams have shown interests in making Kyrie a part of their rosters. Six of these teams even submitted serious proposals: San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, and the Miami Heat.
But in the end, the Cavaliers decided to grab the trade assets offered by the Celtics.
Kyrie Irving’s replacements
Kyrie’s replacements were no pushovers. In fact, the Cavaliers seem to be on the winning end of the bargain. In getting Kyrie, the Boston Celtics sent their leading scorer isaiah thomas, defensive specialist Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic, and Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 unprotected first-round pick to Cleveland.
Though it looks like Boston may be on the losing end of the bargain, Celtics president of basketball operations and general manager Danny Ainge thinks otherwise. “Kyrie is one of the best scorers in the NBA. He has proven that on the biggest stage, the NBA Finals, the last three years,” Ainge said.
He goes on to say Kyrie’s accomplishments during the first six years of his young NBA career -- an NBA Champion, an Olympic Gold Medalist, and a four-time All-Star. But more importantly, the Celtics front office believes that “his best years are ahead of him.”
The 25-year old, 6’3” point guard was “thrilled” upon learning he will soon be joining the Celtics franchise.
The Boston front office has reportedly agreed to the deal believing they will have the upper hand of eventually re-signing him.
Irving thrilled w/ joining Celtics and they'll have great chance to eventually re-sign him. Boston made deal with strong belief he'll stay.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 23, 2017
Isaiah’s injury made it happen
Last Monday, Celtics coach Brad Stevens said he wasn’t sure whether Isaiah will be able to join the training camp due to a hip injury, as reported by ESPN.
Back then, the reason was obvious -- further medical tests were scheduled next month to determine the timeline of Isaiah’s return. The following day, Isaiah was shipped to Cleveland.
After leading the Boston Celtics in defeating the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards to arrange an Eastern Conference Finals showdown against the Cavaliers, Isaiah was ruled out for the remainder of the postseason after Game 2 with a hip injury. He decided to spend the offseason recovering from the hip injury without undergoing surgery. The Celtics GM admitted his hip injury played an important role in pushing through with the trade.
Ironically, the two teams involved in the latest high-profile trade will be tested when the NBA kicks off this Oct.
17 when the Boston Celtics visit the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Quicken Loans Arena. However, there were still doubts whether Isaiah Thomas can play against Kyrie Irving and the rest of his former team.
