Due to Isaiah Thomas’ lingering hip injury, the Cleveland Cavaliers will likely earn additional compensation from the Boston Celtics.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, after Isaiah Thomas underwent a mandatory physical on Friday, the Cleveland Cavaliers have significant concern about the 29-year-old point guard’s hip. While the Cavs could void the trade as a result, they’re more likely to ask for more compensation for Kyrie Irving.
Compensation in the form of another draft pick.
For the Cleveland Cavaliers, this trade is a god send. Hip injury or not.
While the original draft pick they received from Irving – the Brooklyn Nets first-round pick in 2018 – has the potential to be a top-five pick, the Cleveland Cavaliers are now in a position to acquire Boston’s 2019 first-round pick as well.
What this means for the Cavs, who will own their own first-round pick in 2018 in addition to the Brooklyn Nets pick, is that there is more wheeling and dealing to be done. In fact, there’s another All-Star to be had.
Namely Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies, a team with more youth on its roster than you’d expect from a team employing two players in the upper echelon of their position, and DeMarcus Cousins of the New Orleans Pelicans. Cousins’ fit with the Pelicans, who quite frankly played better without Cousins sharing the court with Anthony Davis, is questionable and the Pelicans will give the Twin Towers experiment time to be fruitful but it’s possible they’d move Cousins by the trade deadline if things weren’t working out in the Big Easy.
Both of these centers are dominant scorers and, in the case of Gasol, a dominant defender to boot. While Tristan Thompson is unlikely to appeal to either team given his lack of offensive prowess, it’s certainly possible that Kevin Love will. That’s especially true if the Cleveland Cavaliers attach a first-round pick, or two, to the deal.
Would the Grizzlies turn down a package of Love and two first-round picks for Gasol? Would the Pels for Cousins?
It’s more possible that the Cavs would say no thank you than them and that should be music to the Cavs ears, as it means that they have more than enough assets to acquire a player like the 32-year-old Gasol, who may become disgruntled if his team doesn’t show that they’re still championship contenders. Or Cousins, who is talented as well as young but who may not fit on a team that already has an uber-talented big man on the roster and has yet to show the maturity teams would want to see from the face of their franchise.
The Cavs could choose to trade Love and a single first-round pick for Gasol or Cousins then turn around and package a set of players and another first-round pick for Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks. Anthony wants out of New York and at 32-years-old he’s on the final leg of his career. The Knicks shouldn’t expect the Cavs to give up multiple first-round picks for Anthony and, to be frank, with the offers they’ve been getting for Anthony during the offseason they should be satisfied with a single first-round pick.
With that said, there’s no need for the Cavs to void the Irving trade if they receive additional compensation from the Boston Celtics.
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