We must be honest about the trade between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers. Both teams have won in this trade, but the Celtics have come out as a much better team. Kyrie Irving goes to a team that is ready-made to work with him, and he will have a genius coach in Brad Stevens.
Isaiah Thomas goes to the Cavaliers where he may have his best chance of winning a championship only because he is playing with LeBron James. This is an interesting trade, and it sets up the Cavaliers for the future. They must know that LeBron is leaving.
LeBron made hints
LeBron James has been hinting for a while now that he might leave when his latest contract is up, and he would be wise to do so if he wants to move to LA for the movie producer life. I cannot blame him for that, but he apparently has not told Cleveland anything. Kyrie Irving did not want to play with LeBron, and they decided he should go sooner rather than later. This is a smart move if the Cleveland Cavaliers take all of LeBron's hints seriously.
Kyrie wanted out
Kyrie Irving was adamant with management that he was done with LeBron James, and it is easy to see why. LeBron runs the ship, and Kyrie is a ball-dominant scorer who can score from anywhere on the floor. It would be unwise to think he would not continue to do so in a new location, and he would become disgruntled if he did not have a chance to lead the team.
He did have the team to himself once, but he was young, and the Cavaliers were terrible. This is different.
The Celtics are better
The Boston Celtics are now a better team, and that is hard to dispute at this point. A team that already signed Gordon Hayward and improved because many fans consider Kyrie Irving the best scorer in the NBA today.
Boston still has a great coach, and they have the pieces that made their team great. They gave up Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley, but they are packed with stars now. They have Jayson Tatum, and they have two max contract players. This is a dream setup for the Celtics, and it will likely send them to the NBA Finals this season.
Everyone can move on
The Boston Celtics can move on and not pay Isaiah Thomas. The Cavs can rebuild with all the picks and pieces they just got from Boston, and the two teams can go their separate ways. It is rare that a trade like this works out for both teams, but this particular one has solved every problem for both squads. The Celtics are now better than the Cavs, the Cavs can rebuild when LeBron leaves, and Kyrie is happy.
