The Cleveland Cavaliers were hailed by many media members as the winner of the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in August for a return of Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round draft pick.
But as we approach the All-Star break, it’s clear the Cavs easily could instead end up being huge losers in this trade. The Celtics, led by Irving, sit atop the Eastern Conference standings and own the third-best record in the NBA. The Cavs, meanwhile, are in third place in the East but sit closer to the eighth seed than the Celtics.
It was reported in the summer that Irving didn’t want to play anymore with LeBron James, and that this was one of the reasons for his reported trade request.
Jason Lloyd of the Athletic on Tuesday reported further details (subscription required) about Irving’s unwillingness to play alongside James.
“Bring him to camp,” James told the Cavs. He was confident he could repair whatever damage Irving felt was done to their relationship. But Irving made clear to Gilbert and the Cavaliers he wanted out of Cleveland because he did not want to play another minute with James, one source told The Athletic. Given how close Irving and James were to the ends of their contracts, the Cavs chose to move Irving while they believed he still had peak value.”
It was a bold move by Irving, but so far it’s proven to be a smart one. He’s taken on the role of franchise cornerstone with the Celtics and the team is playing very well despite not having its second-best player, Gordon Hayward, for all but five minutes of the season.
The Cavs did pick the right time to deal Irving. The closer he gets to free agency, the less value he has. They did not, however, get the best return for Irving. Thomas was a risk given his hip injury, Crowder never has been a quality role player outside of Boston, and the Nets likely are too good for their pick to be in the top three.
The Cavaliers have made a lot of bad decisions over the last year, and the decision to trade Irving could prove to be the worst of them.
