Johansen2Foligno
CBJ Realest
- Jan 2, 2015
- 9,253
- 4,174
They got a decent bench scorer/defender, a top pick who won't help them keep LeBron James nor make any meaningful impact until at least 3 years from now, a prospect big man, and a small guard who has had two good seasons coming off a major injury and is still not healthy yet and is unknown to be healthy when the season starts, and when he returns to health might not be in the best shape and possibly not the same player he was before the injury.
For Kyrie Irving, a superstar scorer, clutch and big time performer, and to a conference rival who has vastly improved AND plaed in the ECF last year.
Yeah, that's a bad deal. The only thing of value was the draft pick. If I was Cleveland I would have held out for Tatum or Brown in addition to the pick, Thomas, and Crowder. If they wouldn't do it the rumored deal with the Suns seemed interesting, and even though Phoenix was unwilling to do the deal today, possibly they would have during the season. Which brings me to my next point of the Cavs didn't have to trade Kyrie even though he wanted out. It wasn't a toxic thing. I bet if the season started he would have reported to camp and would have had a big boy talk with LeBron and smoothed things out enough where things could have been professional.
I wouldn't have dealt Kyrie without a young potential star coming back (Tatum, Brown, or Jackson), a proven NBA point guard (Thomas, Bledsoe), and some bench help (Crowder). I would have also tried to unload horrible salary (Shumpert), but that would probably not happen. I wouldn't trade a superstar unless I got a huge deal.
There are a few things happening in my mind:
1. It was good for Boston -- they upgraded their point guard who has an additional year and isn't quite the liability on defense that Thomas was. They also got to keep their Laker's pick and Tatum/Brown. In my mind, the Cavs asked for Tatum/Brown and took the Brooklyn first instead. Good trade for the Celtics. The cost was a little steep, but they had the assets to do it. I think there was some head-scratching on why they didn't trade for George/Butler, but I think the Hayward signing addresses that.
2. This was a great return for a star player who publicly demanded out with a published list of preferred teams. Phoenix is building around Jackson -- they won't trade him for two years of Kyrie. I think this was probably the best deal they were going to get. Perhaps if it wasn't made public, they might have received more, but we'll never know now.
3. Jae Crowder is an above-average small forward who is on a steal of a contract that goes on for another three years. He can also slide to the power forward position in a small-ball lineup and he is a 40% shooter from downtown who also plays defense.
4. Antic showed some decent flashes last year. He can back up Thompson and Frye
5. The Brooklyn pick is good insurance for when LeBron leaves. Brooklyn won't be very good this year, but neither will the rest of the bottom of the East. Then ext draft is shaping up to be good. Alternatively, they could package this in a mid-season trade for someone at the deadline.
6. Thomas is a clear downgrade from Kyrie and coming off hip surgery. He is still a great player and Rose will be backing him up. I can't imagine they would give him a max contract, and I think he walks at the end of the year.
7. The Cavs saved $30 million in luxury taxes.
In a vacuum, this isn't a particularly good trade for the Cavs. It's always about the circumstances