NBA trade news: Celtics snag top player in Kyrie Irving, but did they win deal with Cavs?
We’ve been watching Kyrie Irving now for six NBA seasons, yet there is still so much we do not know about him. He is a scorer, no doubt, and a top-shelf one at that — he has four All-Star selections to his credit and averaged a career-high 25.2 points last year, shooting 40.1 percent from the 3-point line and 90.5 percent on free throws. On the flip side, his feeble defense is well-known and waters down his offensive impact.
And for all his runner-up status behind LeBron James with the Cavs in the last three years, he was clutch enough to make the biggest shot in franchise history, that off-balance 3-pointer to give Cleveland its only championship, completing a stunning comeback win over the Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals.
There’s a lot more pros than cons there, especially for a guy who is only 25 years old. The rule of thumb in any trade is the team getting the best player involved usually wins. But if you’re the Celtics and you’re betting the house on Irving entering next season, there are still some critical holes in his resume that have to make you wonder what you’re getting yourself into with Irving.
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That’s especially true in light of two of the players the Celtics are sending to Cleveland in this deal, All-Star Isaiah Thomas and forward Jae Crowder. Both have flaws as players, obviously. Thomas, at 5-9, has the same defensive deficiencies as Irving. Crowder is a rough-and-tumble perimeter forward who makes up for a lack of pure talent with smarts and toughness.
During last year’s run to the conference finals, Thomas came to personify toughness for the Celtics — after a season in which he came to be the franchise’s defining player. As much as Thomas was Boston’s leading scorer, his fourth-quarter heroics and underdog persona became part of the team’s character. Sure, character doesn’t win you a championship, but the Celtics wouldn’t have won 53 games without Thomas’ approach to the game.
He lost his sister in the first round of the postseason, delivering her eulogy before returning to gut his way through Game 1 of the East semifinals. He had a tooth knocked out against the Wizards in the second round and continued to play after having it jammed back into place. He was finally knocked out of the playoffs in the conference finals with a hip injury.
Maybe Irving would have reacted the same way as Thomas, if he’d had a death in the family or a random on-court dental accident. Maybe he’d be the one getting accolades for his toughness if so.
But we’ve never seen Irving in that role, and that is the variable that will decide how this trade works — or doesn’t. Irving was a second option with James. Before that, the Cavs were a disaster when led by Irving in the first three seasons of his career. Cleveland won only 78 games total, cycled through three coaches and were most noted for the behind-the-scenes in-fighting between Irving and former Cav Dion Waiters.
During his collegiate career at Duke, of course, Irving played just eight games to start the year and three to end it while coming back from a toe injury. Irving was an Olympian last summer, and though he was solid throughout (11.4 points per game), he was well down on the list of leaders on that team.
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That’s the gamble the Celtics are taking here. Yes, Irving is three years younger and is not scheduled to be a big-money free agent next season, as Thomas is (Irving can hit the market the following year). But Irving has always come across as a detached star. He’s never been the rally-around guy that Thomas has been in his time in Boston. It’s hard to imagine him suddenly developing that.
Dealing Crowder gives up some of the Celtics’ present identity. Just as bad: Losing beloved guard Avery Bradley in a trade to Detroit earlier this summer.
That’s tough to swallow, considering Bradley, Crowder and Thomas (who will make a combined $22 million next season) thrived off the fact that they were undervalued around the league, and drew fan love because of it.
But this was more than just a matter of losing some heart-and-soul players for a talent increase. Boston coughed up some future chunks, too, by trading next year’s Nets unprotected pick — likely a top-three choice in a talented and top-heavy draft — as well as rookie big man Ante Zizic.
For Irving? Sure feels like an overpay.
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The Celtics added Gordon Hayward this summer after signing Al Horford last year, and they have two obvious young building blocks in last year’s No. 3 pick, Jaylen Brown, and this year’s No. 3 pick, Jayson Tatum. They could still have a top-five pick next year, if the Lakers finish with one of picks No. 2-5.
But Irving, Hayward and Horford are all excellent complementary pieces — there isn’t a full-throated leader among them. Maybe Irving can be a top guy with a fresh start in Boston. But that’s uncertain. The Celtics did get the best player here, the question is, did they get any better?