The Cleveland Cavaliers, following Isaiah Thomas’ physical, are asking for far too much from Boston when re-organizing this blockbuster trade.
It appears that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics will be reworking a deal involving superstars Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas. The Cavaliers were already set to get the 2018 Brooklyn Nets’ first round pick, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and Isaiah Thomas. While the best package the Cavaliers have yet to receive, following Thomas’ concerning physical, the Cavaliers are looking for more from their Eastern Conference rivals.
In a brief video by ESPN, Adrian Wojnarowski explained Cleveland’s mindset moving forward.
"“Now, Cleveland is going to try to inquire about a couple of the Celtics’ young players, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, who they tried to get in the original trade, that is very unlikely,” Wojnarowski said. “But Boston still has a war chest of future first-round picks of their own, and some picks they control from other teams, and Cleveland is going to try to get one more of those to finalize this deal.”"
In the end, Wojnarowski says that another pick is the most likely avenue for improving this deal. Even if Wojnarowski is correct, the Cavaliers requesting another pick, especially another first-round pick, could be too much for Boston to cave in. From Cleveland’s perspective, they just want proper compensation in exchange for one of the league’s brightest stars, so one fewer first-round pick shouldn’t be too much.
Several other factors come into play when considering how much Cleveland should ask for. Cleveland’s value of the Brooklyn pick would be a good indicator of how much more they could ask for. Cleveland getting the opportunity to re-work this deal is a huge benefit for them and could yield great dividends with these additional picks. A pair of second round picks could suffice, but it is also appealing to request a future first-round pick far in the future in case Boston fails to continue their Eastern Conference success.
The Celtics have the assets to continue to deal, but both of these sides need and want a trade to be done. Since Isaiah Thomas most likely isn’t the long-term answer, Boston needs that superstar talent to match Hayward. It is the only way they could make the Finals and eventually beat the Warriors. For Cleveland, Irving doesn’t want to win there, so he needs to leave his only NBA family.
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Both of these teams will need to figure this out, but Cleveland shouldn’t be making too many demands after the original deal that was made.