04/16/24
August 26, 2017
...and Maybe the Dynamite Fizzles: Cleveland is having second thoughts about the Thomas-Irving trade after Isaiah Thomas took his physical. What's up here?
posted by Howard_T to basketball at 03:47 PM - 10 comments
fatty? Is Ufez asking for you?
Also, today I learned that there wasn't a pre-trade physical on the players. I thought that was something like step 1a
posted by NoMich at 04:37 PM on August 26, 2017
In a sense this is the pre-trade physical. Although the 2 sides in a trade agree on everything, it's not done until the players pass their physical. Irving was supposed to have his today.
So how does this trade work? The rumors are, according to Wojnarowski, that the last thing Cleveland wants is to void the deal. They are hoping for additional compensation, but Danny Ainge isn't about to give up anything too good. Tatum and Brown are out of the question, as is the Lakers' pick from Philadelphia. The best they might get is one of the basket full of 2nd round picks Boston owns.
If I were in charge, as I really should be, I would counter Cleveland's concerns about Thomas with Celtics' own worries about Irving's knees. Just tell Cleveland to take it or leave it. True, you will wind up with a pissed off Isaiah and Jae Crowder, but think of what Cleveland would be up against. Perhaps the Cavs best move would be to dump LeBron and Kyrie, not to the same team, and get a ton of good draft picks. I believe this might have been done by a certain Mr. Ainge recently.
posted by Howard_T at 05:12 PM on August 26, 2017
In a sense this is the pre-trade physical. Although the 2 sides in a trade agree on everything, it's not done until the players pass their physical. Irving was supposed to have his today.
Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification. And yes, you should be in charge. Of everything.
posted by NoMich at 05:23 PM on August 26, 2017
Ainge got lucky before when he tried to trade an insane bundle of six draft picks for the chance to move up in the draft and take Justise Winslow. He is so fortunate that the Hornets didn't say yes. And the Hornets are idiots for saying no and drafting Frank Kaminsky, the man of 1000 facial expressions. He's the guy who couldn't give the sheriff a good reason why he let that man just walk in and rob the general store.
Ainge doesn't deserve to be lucky enough to have this trade voided, having missed on subway token chances to get other players like Butler and George before foolishly overpaying for Irving.
If the deal falls apart and everyone goes back home, Ainge is lucky again, because he's got a high quality coach who will find a way to reassemble the troops and get them motivated. Whatever it takes to make Crowder happy, do that. Hell, give him a raise that bumps him up a bit until he can get fair market value down the road.
If Kyrie goes back to Cleveland, what the hell is Tyronn Lue going to do or say that will make everything OK?
If Isaiah has a medical condition that will keep him from ever being 100% again, that's why you don't pay him the big bucks when his contract is up. It's sad but justifiable.
I like Ainge as a hoarder and value grabber a lot more than I do as a high roller. Stay away from Vegas, Danny. It's not your kind of place.
posted by beaverboard at 06:49 PM on August 26, 2017
Woke up early this am from a dream that had the Celtics not only refusing to add in anything else to sweeten the deal, but instead changing their own minds and pulling Isaiah or Crowder off the table.
If the deal gets modified and the Celtics somehow end up with Shumpert, I'm driving over to Chelsea and pound the salt pile.
posted by beaverboard at 11:51 AM on August 27, 2017
The deal being nullified isn't the end of the world for the Celtics. They would pretty much end up with a lottery pick next year and all they need to do is draft decently.
Unless they draft like they did this year ....
posted by cixelsyd at 10:56 PM on August 27, 2017
I read some further information on the trade this morning. Supposedly, Danny Ainge gave Cleveland all of the available information he had about Isaiah's hip before the deal was agreed upon. The Brooklyn pick was included in order to sweeten the deal because Isaiah might have to miss part of the season. Otherwise, the deal would have been for the protected pick from the Lakers via Philadelphia. Ainge is upset because he feels that Cleveland knew Thomas was injured and is now complaining because they found out he was injured.
There is precedence for Cleveland getting an additional 2nd round pick. When the Celtics traded with Oklahoma City for Jeff Green, they found out that he had a heart condition that resulted in his missing a full season. The Celtics appealed to the Commissioner, who awarded Boston a second round pick from Oklahoma City.
posted by Howard_T at 11:08 AM on August 28, 2017
No matter how you slice it, the Cleveland front office are bumblers.
You can peg the comparative ineptitude just by the media leakage. The whole world knew Kyrie wanted out of Cleveland, but Ainge trading IT caught people by surprise.
Now, the reports are that the Cavs want some absurd measure of bonus added in, such as Brown or Tatum. The idea that a story like that even got started shows how little control the front office has of its operations. Every chapter of the Cleveland side of this unfolding saga could have (and should have) been kept quieter.
Loose ships sink hips.
I'll be disappointed in Ainge if he even publicly acknowledges the details of Cleveland's post-agreement demands.
Meanwhile, it's nice that Ainge got some more value from the Sixers by dealing them the first pick this year, but the draft was held a full month after IT's injury put him on the bench and the decision was made to forego surgery. If Ainge had any sort of idea he'd need elite help at point guard in the coming season, all this mess could have been avoided if he'd just kept the pick and drafted Fultz. Let your clumsy division opponent get less in return for Kyrie somewhere else, and become instantly less competitive than they will be if this trade goes through.
I wish Ainge had played his college ball at Wake Forest or NC State. Then he wouldn't have this god-damned fascination with Duke players.
posted by beaverboard at 12:05 PM on August 28, 2017
the Cleveland front office are bumblers
To the extent that they didn't attempt to get Butler or someone in trade before Irving went public, possibly.
The Cavs front office decisions are governed by the requirement to cater entirely to what LeBron wants. But they still got the Celtics best defender, a lottery pick, and an injured all-star in return for their equivalent of the Queen of Spades.
posted by cixelsyd at 02:51 PM on August 28, 2017
Can you un-burn a jersey? Asking for a friend in Boston.