The Celtics traded Thomas, small forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and Brooklyn’s first-round pick in 2018 to the Cavs for four-time All-Star Kyrie Irving.
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The deadline to report and submit a physical for players involved in the deal is 10 a.m. Wednesday, and the deadline to pass a physical is 10 a.m. Thursday, according to league rules. That could complicate things should this trade be voided.
It doesn’t take Miss Cleo to read these tea leaves.
Cleveland must have had some idea that Thomas wasn’t 100%, but the physical may have revealed bigger issues. According to league sources, this is the most significant asset of the trade in securing the team’s future minus LeBron James.
But “Boston has believed it was clear in its assessment of Thomas’ physical status and that information was communicated to the Cavaliers in the conversations before Tuesday’s trade”.
The teams are free to renegotiate a new deal that works for both sides.
The Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas trade could fall through. It is most certainly in the best interests of both teams to have this deal completed. They tried for weeks before finding this configuration.
He averaged 25.2 points and 5.8 assists in 72 regular season appearances this year.
And just which players would Boston include in a revised deal? Aron Baynes, Shane Larkin and Daniel Theis can’t be traded at all until December 15. The Cavs get a top point guard who can replace Irving’s offense, and get to the hoop when James in on the bench.
After Irving demanded to be traded in July, the Cavs entertained numerous other offers before striking a deal with Boston, one of their chief rivals. That being said, he has an injury that could sideline him for the first few weeks and will need to generate chemistry with his new teammates on the fly.
How’s that going to play out in the locker room?
He asked for a trade and has wanted no part of a return to the Cavaliers.
The hip injury that kept Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas out of the final three games of the Eastern Conference finals did not require surgery, but could mean he won’t be ready for the start of Cavaliers training camp. That’d avoid a lot of drama.
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Because of the uncertainty regarding his injury, the already agreed upon blockbuster deal between the Boston Celtics and Cavaliers, centered around Kyrie Irving, is now in limbo. Otherwise, what would stop the Cavs from signaling concern just to extort an extra pick from Boston? If the 76ers are able to stay healthy this year and improve their chemistry between the young nucleus the sky is the limit in 2018.
