The Cleveland Cavaliers shocked the entire NBA after the team traded all-star guard Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics for guard Isiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and other assets. Although tensions between Cavs captain LeBron James and Irving had been brewing, Twitter is still in shock at the blockbuster trade ahead of the 2017-18 season.
ESPN reports that along with Thomas and Crowder, the Celtics also sent center Ante Zizic and the Cavs also acquired an unprotected first-round pick in 2018 from the Brooklyn Nets. At just 25, Irving is at the prime of his career and demanded to be traded back in July as he decided that playing alongside James was no longer a goal of his.
The concern of fans and NBA analysts alike is that Thomas, who had a stellar season and leading the Celtics to the top of the Eastern Conference, was plagued by hip issues he didn’t address with off-season surgery. A shorter, older guard with a similar skill set to Irving, some aren’t seeing Thomas as an upgrade despite the team’s feats last year.
Both players are offensively sound but have been knocked for their lax defense at one of the hardest positions to guard in the league. However, Boston appeared to have snagged one of the league’s rising players in former Utah Jazz star Gordon Hayward and had one of the deeper benches. The upcoming season has a ton of new plotlines all of a sudden.
We’ve searched on Twitter and caught some of the best reactions to the Kyrie Irving trade to the Boston Celtics below and on the following pages. Do you think this helps either team in the long run? Are there other pieces in play? Sound off in the comments.
https://twitter.com/choppaboybull/status/900150798797156352
https://twitter.com/DaJohnson__/status/900146832973672452
https://twitter.com/Nicktheegr8/status/900147362936610817
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Photo: Erik Drost – https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrost88/27235940294/, CC BY 2.0, Link
