On a trade that many from around the league considered an absolute steal on the part of the Boston Celtics, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert expressed his own opinion recently via The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
In one of the most controversial trades of the last decade two summers ago, the Boston Celtics traded the heart of their team in Isaiah Thomas along with what was projected to be a top pick to acquire Kyrie Irving. While many bias Boston fans believed Thomas was just as good if not better than Irving, it was clear to most NBA experts Irving was easily the better player.
In such a superstar driven league, in a majority of deals across the NBA, the team who winds up with the best player wins the trade. This ended up being the case for the Raptors with Kawhi Leonard, the Thunder with Paul George and the Rockets with James Harden.
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However, this is not true for all trades as the Kings sent DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans in return for Buddy Hield. Cousins spent less than two seasons in New Orleans before tearing his Achilles and eventually singing with Golden State. On the flip side, Hield has become a quality starter for a rising Sacramento team.
As far as the Kyrie Irving trade, it still has not been decided as to who won the trade. Yes, Boston made it to the Eastern Conference Finals the season after trading for Irving, but the point guard’s season ended in March before the playoff run even began. Despite Thomas barely playing for the Cavs, things could have been different if he remained in Boston.
The Cav’s greatest return in the trade was rookie point guard Collin Sexton. The guard had a good enough rookie campaign to earn Second Team All-Rookie honors for 2019. While he was never considered a top prospect, if Irving leaves Boston in the summer and Sexton becomes the Cavs franchise point guard, it will be tough to argue that the Celtics won the trade.
For a personal final verdict, the Cavs did not “kill” the trade. If Kyrie Irving re-signs in Boston and continues to produce, they will not have even won the trade. As shown during the 2019 season, Irving is an All-NBA point guard, and regardless of the need to trade him, coming away with only the eight overall pick seems a bit low.
Both Leonard and George went for former or future all-stars in DeMar Derozan and Victor Oladipo. The asking price for Anthony Davis seems to at least be a couple first rounders and another rising star whether it is Jayson Tatum or Brandon Ingram. Getting only Sexton is by far the lesser of those deals.
The Cavs had the opportunity to trade him to multiple teams with better possible assets. Pheonix was rumored to be heavily involved, and they had both better assets and, ultimately, the number one overall pick in the next year’s draft.
Cleveland ultimately got no return on Jae Crowder or Thomas and left LeBron James halfway through the season desperate for another star along-side him.
If Irving leaves, Cleveland will be able to say they won the trade, but they certainly did not “kill it”.