Tuesday afternoon August 22nd, Cleveland and Boston swapped point guards in a deal that looks to be a win-win for both teams.
With Cleveland dismissing former General Manager David Griffin at the end of June and subsequently news breaking shortly thereafter that Kyrie Irving wanted out of Cleveland, the trade market value for Kyrie wasn’t all appealing for Cleveland. Two months has passed and the Cavaliers promoted Koby Altman from acting General Manager to full time and Irving remained on the roster as the team couldn’t find a sufficient deal to help both in the short term and long term as rumors continue to swirl that Lebron James is leaving Cleveland again in the summer of 2018.
However, Cleveland landed a mighty player despite his diminutive size who essentially can reproduce the same offensive production as his trade counterpart and add a tenacious defender as well as a quality player in Jae Crowder. Although Crowder stands at 6’3.5 he plays much bigger than his physical attributes and epitomizes leaving his all on the floor whether it’s taking a charge on the ball, rotating on the weak side, giving help in half-court defense, hustling to secure an offensive rebound for an extra possession, or diving on the floor for a loose ball. Crowder plays with tremendous heart and energy and has made himself into a competent spot up outside shooter. His value to the Cavs this year cannot be understated if they have any intention of competing with Golden State in the NBA Finals come June 2018.
Now to Thomas: Once the last pick of the 2nd round of his draft, Thomas ideally would be closer to a European future then NBA stardom based on where he was selected, but he grinded and carved out success in Sacramento despite every doubter saying he would fail based on measureables alone. He became a fan favorite in Sacramento and even earned the nickname “pizza guy” due to his off-court commercials (and because Thomas delivers on the court), but the Kings front office at the time didn’t believe in him enough when he was a restricted free agent and declined to match the Phoenix Suns 4 year 28 million dollar offer sheet. From there Thomas lasted a few months playing fiddle to a 3-point guard rotation with Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. Much to the Suns dismay now they prematurely traded Thomas to Boston for essentially a future 1st round pick. From there Thomas has become a two-time all-star and the rest as they say, is evolving history. From a fringe NBA draft pick to a guy putting up stats on a losing team to being the best 6th man not named Jamal Crawford at the time to All Star and MVP candidate the 5’7.5 Thomas has produced again and again whenever his doubters think surely he can’t and every time after he succeeds one asks themselves did he do that and how did he do that. Now comes the biggest challenge to date, joining forces with Lebron James who can make his game that much better both off the ball offensively and as an attacking ball handler.
James will be the focal point of the offense when it comes to distribution and essentially Thomas will be orchestrating as a two-guard looking to score first and create for teammates second. The big difference is teams’ scouting reports will always be keying on Lebron first and Thomas will be at best the 2nd focus of opposing defensive game plans depending on the matchup. Those who want to knock Thomas for inefficieniently shooting the basketball last year don’t take into account he was the offensive focal point for a team absent of another 1 on 1 gets you a bucket scorer whose game plans were built to stop (unsuccessfully mostly) Thomas. His ability to score in the paint and off the dribble is a true asset for this team and most importantly this confirms the Celtics reservation to give Thomas the supermax contract he would be eligible to sign at the end of the 2017-18 NBA Calendar year.
For Boston: Acquiring Kyrie is an automatic win even if he unexpectedly leaves after 2018-19 (by opting out of his current contract) because if for any other reason you have a stud offensive score first point guard for another year without having to worry about losing for nothing in free agency. Pairing Kyrie with Gordon Hayward and Al Horford will be a fun challenge for Coach Brad Stevens. Look for his preaching of ball movement early in the shot clock of a possession to continue, but now he has multiple built in 1 on 1 scorers and playmakers to bail out the offense at the end of a possession. Horford has been a threat from the midrange off pick and pops, but now with his added 3-point range the floor will be more spaced off-screen action which leaves room to offensively operate more off the dribble going towards the basket. This will benefit Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum specifically. While this improves the Celtics it also highlights a glaring need for size in the front court, something Danny Ainge will try to improve in the coming months if Boston is serious about winning an NBA championship
As for Zizic the Cavs acquired a lanky 7-footer who moves well for his size rolling to the rim as well as a shot blocking presence. Zizic has post game including hook shots going to his right over his left shoulder and is above average at the dribble handoff to a guard with limited on ball pressure and subsequently rolling to the basket. Almost all his points will be from 7 to 10 feet and in with occasional lobs as well as being very active on the offensive glass getting 2nd chance points off tip ins. Don’t look for him to be taking many if any 3 pointers whenever he gets run on the floor his rookie year, but he may occasionally take a 15 footer and if a big closes out too hard; Zizic has shown ability to take a dribble or two and finish at the rim. At worst he compares to Tyler Zeller, but at this point an offensively more fundamentally sound less tenacious rebounding version of Tristan Thompson.
The Nets’ unprotected first round pick could be as worse as 5-10 and obviously as good as top 3, but to project who they could take is beyond early as of late August only because many factors will play into the selection of this pick including whether some guy born and raised in Akron, Ohio continues to call it his professional home in 10 months’ time.
The Kyrie Irving era in Cleveland is over, but the I.T. era is beginning and although it makes one thing clearer for the Cavs going forward as they’re all in on 2017-18, more questions will arise in the coming months as the season plays out.
Talking Hoop 