3 thoughts on the Kyrie Irving trade one year later

We broke down what Boston’s assets would have looked like one year later on Wednesday had Danny Ainge elected to stand pat last August. However, there were still a lot of intriguing follow up questions and angles discussed over the past 24 hours regarding the Kyrie Irving, including a scorching hot take from Felger that the Cavs have come out with the better end of the deal so far. With that in mind, let’s tie up some loose ends and address a few points on the intriguing topic.

1. The Celtics would still make the same deal today if they could. The Cavs wouldn’t: This cuts to the heart of the argument in my mind. Would the Celtics rather have Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and Colin Sexton or a year of Irving with a good shot to re-sign him this offseason? There should be no question it’s the latter, which cuts down any argument against the deal. Is there a chance that viewpoint could change in the next few years? Yes, if Irving walks and Sexton turns into a perennial All-Star, a second guess would be fair. However, the odds of Irving staying and Sexton turning into nothing special far outweigh those possibilities for the time being. No trade in the NBA comes without risk, and the C’s made a calculated one that worked out on a variety of fronts last year, even though Irving got hurt ahead of the postseason.

If the Cavs could do it all over again, they certainly would make some different choices. They lost LeBron, and they have nothing to show from an asset standpoint outside of Sexton. They sold low on Crowder and will now be counting on Rodney Hood to be a solid supporting piece for the future, something that remains far from a sure thing. If the Cavs rode things out with Irving, they could have tried to fetch a better return during the middle of the year or this offseason than what they ultimately received. Even the Spurs got a better package for Kawhi Leonard than what the Cavs have left from the Irving deal. This fact in itself should shoot down Felger or anyone else claiming the Cavs got the better end of the deal in year one.

2. Would any of the options available at No. 8 have helped the Celtics now if they didn’t make the deal? A few questions came in on this front after yesterday’s piece, curious about the direction the C’s could have gone in if they never made the original deal and held pat with the Nets pick. I think it would have been an upset for this scenario to occur given the treasure trove of selections and youngsters the C’s would have had all over the roster if the Irving deal never happened. The assumption here is that the pick would have been moved with future selections and player(s) for an elite prospect in the top 5 (Luka Doncic?) or a star (Leonard). Barring those situations, this is what was available at No. 8:

8. Cavs (via Nets) — Collin Sexton, PG
9. Knicks — Kevin Knox, SF/PF
10. 76ers (via Lakers) — Mikal Bridges, SG/SF
11. Hornets — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PG/SG
12. Clippers (via Pistons) — Miles Bridges, SF/PF
13. Clippers — Jerome Robinson, SG
14. Nuggets — Michael Porter Jr. SF

As BostonSportsJournal.com reported in June, the Celtics took a long look at trading into a spot where they could select Porter Jr., but that’s more of a result of his freefall down the lottery. At No. 8, he would have been a bit of a reach (due to back woes), and it’s hard to envision how much any of these guys would have helped the current roster immediately next year. Knox and Mikal Bridges would have been appealing fits from a versatility standpoint, but does either of them jump anyone in the team’s current top-10 players? I can’t see them beating out the likes of Marcus Morris and Jae Crowder for minutes right away. For a team that wants to start contending right away, holding onto the No. 8 pick would have helped with future financial flexibility due to rookie scale, but the immediate returns would have been limited barring additional roster moves.

3. Creating an opportunity for the C's young wings with the Irving deal was crucial: This success can’t be overlooked in the wake of the trade. Moving an unhappy Crowder last summer opened the door for opportunity for the likes of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. That door obviously got wider once Gordon Hayward went down, but there was a reason both Tatum and Brown were in the starting lineup on opening night in Cleveland. Each was going to play 25-plus minutes last year anyway, and that type of opportunity doesn’t happen if Crowder is not shipped out of town. The team traded Crowder after a career year and knew he did not have the upside of a Brown or Tatum in his mid-20s. The ceiling is quite clear there. Ainge wanted to find out what he had in Brown and Tatum and managed to do just that while selling high on Crowder. That fact alone makes this deal a success to a degree in spite of Irving’s injuries last year.