There has been a ton of activity and it just keeps going this NBA offseason. Derrick Rose signed with the Cavs for one year, veteran minimum salary. How the mighty have fallen.
Meanwhile in Cleveland, Kyrie Irving wants out for reasons only he can explain. Personally, I do not think the Cavs should do any trade involving Kyrie this year. Make him suffer through another season that eventually ends in the NBA Finals. Win or lose, see if his tune changes next summer. It is virtually impossible to get equal value in return.
I’m the opposite. I think the Cavs should absolutely trade Kyrie. Before training camp. They’re not going to get equal value no matter what, and Kyrie is not exactly sturdy. Plus, the Cavs window has closed, start rebuilding now, LBJ is probably gone next season.
If Kyrie REALLY wanted to be traded this offseason he sure hurt his chances by not making that known sooner. The Cavs were in pursuit of Paul George or Jimmy Butler and presumably weren’t including him in offers. They might have had the inside track to land either if they had. Nobody was blown away by what Indy and Chicago received in return.
You really think the window has closed for the Cavs? They’re still going to be the favorite to win the East. Getting to the Finals is at least half the battle.
I think the Cavs can win the East one more time, because Lebron, but last year showed some definite cracks. They can’t defend and aside from the big 3 no one on the team matters. Then, for winning the East, you get to face GSW! Houston with CP3 is finally a legit threat as well.
Even if Cleveland pulled a miracle and won one more championship, the team is to old and unbalanced to work another year. IMO.
But you’ve got Kyrie for 2 more years, so he ought to still have a ton of trade value after next year if he still says he wants out. Might as well go for another ring. It’s a tough pill to swallow for a team to say, yeah, we’re probably the #2 or #3 team in the NBA but we just don’t think it’s worth competing for a ring.
Assuming they do keep Kyrie, It will be interesting to see how they use Derrick Rose. I think you start Rose at PG and let Kyrie be the 2 guard.
Speaking the Rockets, they’re apparently still trying to make a deal for Carmelo Anthony.
A starting back-court of Kyrie and D-Rose will give up 80 points a night!
The problem with keeping Kyrie (if things are as bad as reported) will be poisoning the locker room, so the team still won’t be cohesive enough to beat the Celtics and maybe Washington or Toronto as well.
If the Cavs are pretty sure LeBron is leaving next year, then one plan is to trade Kyrie and Love now and basically tank the team. Tell LeBron that he can waste a year playing with nobody, or waive his no-trade clause so he can play somewhere decent, and the Cavs at least get something for him.
If you think you’ve got one more year of LeBron, you go for one more Championship. The Cavs will probably fall short again, but they won’t have another legit shot for years if they go the rebuild route. Trade Kyrie next summer. Try to offload Tristan Thompson’s contract somewhere. Try to convince LeBron to say. If he won’t be swayed, hit the reset button.
As a Celts fan, I like it. Thomas’ hip problem just looks like it’s going to keep coming back, so Irving is a major upgrade (along with the Hayward signing). Jae Crowder is a nice guy but really just another interchangeable part. They weren’t going to beat the Cavs in next year’s playoffs, but now they can.
They had blue balls from waiting for the Celts to finally make a big trade from their deep pool of assets.
The trade seems fine, certainly better than going all-in on Paul George, who only has one year left on his contract and wants to play for the Lakers. My concern if I were a Celtics fan would be the prospect of Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum turning into great players, as Kyrie has no interest in playing alongside anyone better than him.
Cavs made out like bandits. You get a damn good point guard, not the equivalent of Kyrie, but close. Neither Kyrie nor Isaiah are worth a shit at defense so that’s a wash. Jae Crowder is better on defense than most of the CAvs. The Nets first round pick will almost certainly be either the #1-2-3 in the draft in a rich pool of talent.