Remember last week when the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers initially agreed to a trade involving Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas?
Boy, have things changed since then.
The trade eventually still happened, but the C’s had to add a future second-round pick to sweeten the deal for the Cavs after they looked at Thomas’ medical situation. And when LeBron James and coach Tyronn Lue apparently found out about the severity of Thomas’ hip injury, their views of the trade reportedly soured.
Via The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor:
“One league source with an understanding of Cleveland’s situation told me that as news spread throughout the organization that Thomas could miss time deep into the upcoming season, James and Lue cooled on the deal. According to the same source, both the Cavs’ franchise player and their head coach were apparently told by upper management that Thomas and Crowder were being brought in to help the team compete with the Warriors now.”
If Thomas does have to miss significant time, that could greatly impact the Cavs’ chances of competing for a title next year, and perhaps even beyond that considering James can opt out of his contract after the 2017-18 campaign.
Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images
