Relax Celtics fans, Kyrie Irving will wear Boston Celtics uniform next season. After it was initially announced that the Cavaliers and the Celtics made a deal involving Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas, the deal was nearly canceled by the Cavs as it was revealed that Isaiah Thomas has an injured hip. Cleveland asked Boston to add more pieces to the deal, and they insisted on getting either Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown. Boston refused to include Tatum or Brown in the deal and the Cavs turned their focus on getting an additional draft pick from the Celtics.
Cleveland was hoping to get one more next year's first-round draft pick, and on Thursday it was announced that the two sides finally came to an agreement.
Kyrie finally in Boston
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday that the Boston Celtics have agreed to add a 2020 second-round draft pick via the Miami Heat in the deal with the Cavaliers, as they finally acquire Kyrie Irving from Cleveland. The deal is now finalized and it's official, Kyrie Irving will continue his career with the Boston Celtics. In this deal. the Cavs will receive Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, Brooklyn's 2017 first-round draft pick and Miami Heat's 2020 second-round draft pick. It seems like this is a win-win situation for both teams, as every side included in the deal eventually got what they originally wanted.
It remains to be seen how will this translate on the basketball court and will the Cleveland Cavaliers still be the best team in the Eastern Conference next season. Some would say that, as long as they have LeBron James on their roster, they will be the team to beat in the East. It's hard to argue that since LeBron has led his team to seven straight NBA Finals appearances.
With the pieces they received in the Kyrie Irving trade, the Cavaliers will have more than enough to continue their dominance in the Eastern Conference next season.
What did the Cavs get in return
Now let's take a short look at the players the Cavaliers acquired from Boston in exchange for Kyrie Irving. The Cavs received an All-Star caliber player in Isaiah Thomas that will help them immediately as he hits the court.
He's an offensive machine and he showed that last season. At 5-foot-9, Thomas averaged a career-high 28.9 points per game last season and also added 2.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. Thomas shot 38 percent from the three-point line last season.
Jae Crowder is an elite defender in the NBA with great size, length, and solid athleticism. At 6-foot-6, Crowder can successfully guard the shooting guard and the small forward position and his shooting has also improved over the past few years. Crowder connected on nearly 40 percent of his three-pointers last season while averaging 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
The Cavs will unlikely use Ante Zizic next season as he is yet to play a single game in the NBA.
The Celtics drafted him with the 23rd overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and he spent the 2016/2017 playing in Turkey for the Darussafaka Dogus. The 20-year-old, 6-foot-11 Zizic averaged 9.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in 21.9 minutes per game for Darussafaka last season. Probably the most important piece the Cavs received in this deal with the Celtics, is the 2018 first-round draft pick from the Brooklyn Nets. It will most likely be a top 5 pick and maybe even a top 3 pick, depending on the Nets record next season. The Cavs can use this asset in another potential deal this summer or they can draft a good, young player in 2018 that will help them in the future.
