The NBA world was flipped upside down on Tuesday night when the Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to send point guard Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics for All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and a 2018 first-round pick they received from the Brooklyn Nets.
Irving finally got his wish of leaving Cleveland after submitting a trade request back in July as his relationship with LeBron James became frayed.
The Cavaliers get a huge return for the four-time All-Star.
Thomas put up the finest season of his career in 2016-17, averaging 28.9 points per game (third best in the NBA) and 5.9 assists while Crowder adds valuable perimeter defense to Cleveland’s ranks. That could come in handy should the Cavaliers meet up with the Golden State Warriors for a fourth-consecutive NBA Finals.
On top of that, they’ll have a likely top-three pick considering the Nets are destined for another atrocious season.
But the Cavaliers might have been looking for something else when it came to a return for Irving.
A source told Marc J. Spears of the Undefeated that Cavs general manager Koby Altman called up Golden State and asked for sharpshooter Klay Thompson.
The Warriors were uninterested, though.
Dealing Thompson would have gutted a part of Golden State’s core as Thompson has been a big part of two championships with the team.
The deal also would have forced either Irving or Stephen Curry to move out of their normal position at the 1 while the other would have to take on more of a shooting guard role. So obviously, the deal didn’t make much sense for the Warriors.
