Kyrie Irving got his wish. The Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to send the disgruntled All-Star to the Boston Celtics in exchange for isaiah thomas, Jae Crowder, and a 2018 first-round pick from the Brooklyn Nets.
Kyrie Irving trade request timeline
The public first heard of the Kyrie Irving trade request when his meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert leaked in July. The Cavaliers reportedly received feelers from about 20 NBA teams and has been offered no less than 4 trade deals.
While there have been a lot of trade offers, none of them pushed through.
The Cavaliers are reportedly eyeing a young veteran starter, a blue chip player on a rookie contract, and a first-round draft pick. The nearest trade deal that came close to completion was the one from the Phoenix Suns.
The Phoenix Suns allegedly offered Eric Bledsoe, Dragan Bender, and the Miami Heat’s 2018 first-round pick in exchange for Kyrie Irving. The Cleveland Cavaliers, however, wanted the 2017 number 4 pick Josh Jackson instead of Bender while the Phoenix Suns are determined to keep Jackson.
The Irving trade talks died down after the Cavaliers and the Suns seemingly left the table at an impasse. For a while, it also seemed that Irving’s relationship with the Cavaliers could be fixed as Kyrie Irving and LeBron James reportedly sat down to clear the air between them.
In the end, though, Kyrie Irving got his wish to find a new home, and the Cleveland Cavaliers received great assets in exchange for the former All-Star game MVP
Isaiah Thomas for Kyrie Irving, it's official!
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that the trade negotiation between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics are almost a done deal.
The Celtics and the Cavaliers agreed to a trade package that would send Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and a future draft pick (2018 first round pick from Brooklyn Nets) to Cleveland in exchange for Kyrie Irving.
Sources: Boston, Cleveland on trade call now with league office. Deal is done.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 22, 2017
Another report from CSNNE.com suggests that the Cavaliers also wanted this year’s number 3 draft pick Jayson Tatum to be included in the trade deal.
The Celtics traded the number 1 pick to the Philadelphia 76ers and then selected Tatum as the number 3 pick.
Sources: Boston, Cleveland nearing deal on Kyrie Irving, but details still working to completion. Isaiah Thomas, Crowder, pick(s) in talks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 22, 2017
The Cavaliers defeated the Celtics in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals where Isaiah Thomas sat out the majority of that series due to an injury. Interestingly, Thomas was one of the Celtics who pushed hard for the acquisition of Gordon Hayward.
Who wins this trade? Will Kyrie Irving work well with newly acquired Celtic Gordon Hayward? Can LeBron James co-exist with Isaiah Thomas? Tell us what you think in the comment section.
