Glenn M

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Joined August 2017

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I don’t think the trade is as bad as you are making out here. I think you are undervaluing Kyrie. There are a few things to consider:

1. The last season Kyrie played without Lebron was only his 3rd in the NBA.
He turned 22 after the All-Star break. He was the best player on team where the next best was Luol Deng who played less than half the games and saw his worst per game outputs in 6 years. You can argue that GREAT players get it done regardless. That’s true, but the list of post 2000 lottery picks who took their fledgling teams to 50 or more wins in their 3rd season is quite short.

There are 16 players in total which includes the likes of:
Lebron James
Chris Paul
Kevin Durant
Derrick Rose in his MVP season
It also includes:
Blake Griffin (the year CP3 join him)
Dwyane Wade (the year Shaq joined him)
Amare Stoudemire (the year Nash joined him)
Westbrook (had KD)

Players like Kyrie who couldn’t get it done in their 3rd year:
Melo
Dwight Howard
John Wall
Demarcus Cousins
Chris Bosh
Kevin Love
Steph Curry
Andrew Bogut

I’ve been selective in those lists but I think it proves my point that early dominance is hard.

2. Kyrie is only 25 and about to enter his prime.
IT is 28 and will be 29 while probably lookiing for (and getting) a 5 year max deal. I don’t think Boston would be prepared to commit $30+mil(conservatively) to someone who would be 34 by the end of the contract. Instead they get Kyrie entering his prime at $20mil a year.

3. Isaiah Thomas might have already played his best season.
I’ll admit that this is speculative. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong. A 5’9 point guard who plays as hard as IT is only gonna last so long in the NBA. Defenders are getting bigger as they are forced to deal with bigger bodied superstars. The teams that play best against dynamic ball handlers are the ones that get physical. We found out this past season that beating up James Harden is a great way to slow him down. Steph Curry hates physical contact and Chris Paul has a history of struggling against taller bigger bodied defenders. I’m not convinced that Thomas would be able to continue on his current trajectory for much longer.

All that being said, I definitely think the Cavs got the better end of the deal. if Lebron and IT walk after this season they have Crowder, Zizic and probably a top 3 pick to begin their rebuild. (and Love….)

This doesn’t necessarily make it a bad trade for Boston. The Celtics are moving in to their championship window with a 25 year old point guard with proven Finals experience. A top 10 wing. A veteran centre and an incredibly promising rookie. That should be more than enough to attract the right complimentary pieces and rules the east for a few years.

Boston Celtics make the worst trade of the summer

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Basketball

2017