The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics were both expected to excel this season after agreeing to a blockbuster trade involving superstar guard Kyrie Irving. The Celtics got Irving from the Cavaliers for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round pick and a 2020 second-round selection. From the looks of it, it was only the Celtics who benefited from the trade as they currently lead the Eastern Conference while the Cavaliers are going through a slump, losing nine of their last 12 games.
There was excitement with the return of Thomas after missing a bunch of games due to a hip injury.
However, in the five games that Thomas played this season, the Cavaliers have a 2-3 win-loss mark. Thomas is currently averaging 13.6 points, 1.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 23 minutes of play for the Cavaliers (26-17), who are currently third in the Eastern Conference, seven games behind the Celtics (34-11). Irving, for his part, is averaging 24.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game for the Celtics.
Cavs now second-guessing Irving move
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, second-guessing has been developing within the Cavaliers' organization about trading Irving to the Celtics in the offseason. Windhorst said some members of the organization are thinking of what could have been if they only told Irving to stay put and wait out the remaining two years of his contract.
Windhorst mentioned that the San Antonio Spurs worked out the issues with LaMarcus Aldridge after he demanded a trade in the offseason. Ironing out the issues with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich paid dividends as Aldridge is playing big for San Antonio. In the mid-2000s, Windhorst also mentioned that Kobe Bryant demanded a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers, but the organization stood its ground.
The move proved to be the right one for the Lakers as they won several titles with Bryant leading the way.
Cavs not hopeful in terms of winning an NBA title
According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, several Cavaliers players are doubtful that they will be able to recover from their inconsistent play and win an NBA title this season.
McMenamin said multiple “prominent players” spoke to ESPN, Cleveland.com and The Athletic that working through their issues will not be enough to win them the NBA title. McMenamin said that some of the issues mentioned included the aging roster, lack of defense, and redundant role players.
