The Kyrie Irving era is over in Cleveland. The Cavaliers have swapped out Irving for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the Nets’ unprotected 2018 first round pick.
The Cavaliers were looking for a replacement player, an extra wing defender, and a future asset in a trade for Irving. They were able to get all of that in this trade. Isaiah Thomas is able to replace many of the things Irving excelled at that made him so valuable against Golden State.
Irving is a better overall player than Isaiah Thomas. Irving is a younger and has yet to reach his full potential in the NBA. Irving’s ability to get to the basket and finish through contact is one of the best in the league. Thomas is a great player in his own right, but he isn’t Kyrie Irving. That much is clear. But, there is an argument to be made that he’s actually a better fit in Cleveland than Irving is.
The biggest goal of the Cavs this off-season was closing the gap on the Golden State Warriors. While flipping Kyrie Irving for Isaiah Thomas might make them a slightly better matchup against Golden State. Factoring in the other pieces of this trade, Koby Altman hit a home run with this deal.
Irving’s most valuable skills were on the offensive end of the floor. His ability to excel in the isolation, spot up shooting, and in the pick-and-roll made him a perfect complement to LeBron. Thomas was actually better than Irving in all of those areas last season, and he didn’t have James on his team. Those numbers should theoretically increase given the presence of LeBron.