News flash: The Boston Celtics still aren’t the best team in the NBA — hello, Golden State Warriors — after acquiring Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers in a blockbuster trade Tuesday night.
But they might have a better chance at being that team in the near future, thanks to this shocker of a deal.
Sure, the C’s will look a lot different this upcoming season, as they now have parted with four of their five starters from a team that went to the Eastern Conference finals. And, on top of that, they lost one of their most valuable assets in the 2018 Brooklyn Nets pick, which could very well be the No. 1 overall selection in what’s supposed to be a loaded draft.
However, they now are replacing Thomas, who’s crazy talented but will be a free agent in search of a max deal in 2018 and has a potential lingering hip issue, with Irving, who’s younger, can’t opt out until after the 2018-19 season and already has won a championship with a clutch shot for the ages. And he’ll presumably start alongside fellow All-Stars Gordon Hayward and Al Horford, as well as Marcus Morris and budding star Jaylen Brown.
Oh, and don’t forget the Celtics also didn’t have to part with top-10 picks Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart, or another potential top-10 pick in the 2018 Los Angeles Lakers selection.
That means you can look at that infamous Nets trade like this: Boston ended up getting Brown, Tatum and Irving. Not bad, eh?
But it should be noted that the Cavs probably got better with this move, too. If IT is healthy, they received a pretty comparable point guard, plus they have Jae Crowder and his noted defense to go up against the Warriors, if they get to the NBA Finals.
The Cavs faced quite the conundrum with Irving wanting out of Cleveland and LeBron James having the ability to opt out after the 2017-18 campaign. But if the Cavs only have James for one more year, they are trying to make the most of it. Plus, they now will have the potential No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft to rebuild if need be.
A potential Eastern Conference finals matchup between these teams would be a sight to see, and while any roster with James on it has to be the favorite (unless it’s a super team like the Warriors), it’s hard to see the Celtics being overpowered in that hypothetical matchup like they were last season.
And if doomsday still happens for the Cavs after this season, the Celtics instantly would become the best team in the East, with the best chance to dethrone the Dubs.
Thumbnail photo via Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports Images
