If he needs surgery it can take up to 9 months to come back and no guarantee he will be the same in time of the playoffs. I don't see it being blown out of proportions? The Nets aren't a bottom 5 team with the likes of Lakers, Kings, Bulls, Hawks, Suns, Orlando around. Even better teams than them on paper, but who will have to play in the jungle of the western conference will end up with a worse record. Crowder's defence has been getting worse since last season. He is not as good as ariza at all. More hyped than Ariza yes. But worse in both defence and offence. Kyrie isn't a top 10 player and for sure not a superstar agreed. Still a haul of a top 10 pick and a roleplayer which is what this amounts to isn't some crazy offer. Now..if that pick instead of the Nets pick was the LAL/Sac pick ...
they've been offered or they will be offered just for KI alone as much as or more than IT, Crowder, BK 1st, and 2nd rd pick?
It all depends on their motivations. IT is pretty important to the goal of still LEGITIMATELY competing for a championship. I know many disagree and view KI as a clearly better player, but the reality is IT was a better player then KI last year. There's just the concern about his age and size, and need for a max contract. Other than that, he was BETTER than KI last year, and they got Crowder. I have no clue what the deal with IT's injury is. If it's serious potential to be out for the year, then Cleveland has to judge whether or not that Brooklyn pick is the real prize and if they conclude yes, get whatever little extra they can and move on. But if they really want to compete legitimately for a ring this year, and really think IT has a real chance to miss the whole season, it's not valuable for them. And even if KI isn't well liked in that Cavs locker room or whatever, they'd still have a better shot at just keeping him for this year and trading him next offseason. Or look at a Suns deal. Or whatever. The Celtics have to get value for IT now. If IT goes back to Boston, he has almost 0 trade value at this point.
Well obv this is a totally diff story if IT will miss more than half the season due to surgery, Celtics better give up Tatum or Brown otherwise no deal if I'm Cavs FO. I'd rather kick the tires on Lowry+pick or look out West for better deals. Hell I'd even take the package we traded for Paul+pick over injured IT if he will miss more than half the season.
All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas told ESPN that he has made significant progress with his injured hip toward a return in the 2017-18 season and has a message for NBA teams doubting his long-term prognosis. "I am not damaged," Thomas told ESPN on Tuesday. "I'll be back, and I'll be the same player." Cleveland and Boston officials started to engage each other on a solution on Tuesday, league sources told ESPN. Cleveland is no longer seeking one of the Celtics' top young players or significant draft picks, league sources said. The Cavaliers could be inclined to complete the deal for a late first-round pick or second-round considerations, league sources said. The deadline to report and submit to a physical for the players involved in the trade is 10 a.m. ET Wednesday, and the deadline to pass the physical is 10 a.m. ET Thursday, per league rules. In an interview with ESPN on Tuesday afternoon, Thomas was forceful in his belief that the labrum injury that ended his season in the Eastern Conference Finals to Cleveland will not have a long-term impact on his career. "There's never been an indication that I wouldn't be back, and there's never been an indication that this is something messing up my career," Thomas told ESPN. "Maybe I am not going to be back as soon this season as everyone wants me to be, but I'm going to be back, and I'm going to be the same player again. No doctor has told me anything different than that." "I haven't had one doctor tell me that this injury is going to hurt my career," Thomas said. "Surgery was not the best option in this case. I aggravated it in March when [Minnesota's] Karl-Anthony Towns fell on me. I kept playing on it, and making it worse -- until I couldn't play anymore last season." Thomas has been in consistent contact with Cavaliers officials since his physical on Friday in Cleveland, he said. "I don't know what [the organization] is doing," Thomas told ESPN. "It's out of my control. I just want to talk about what I can control, and I know that this (hip) won't be a problem into the future." Thomas also did not yet want to speak about the emotions of a possible departure from Boston or his arrival in Cleveland. Thomas has been consulting with renowned hip specialist, Dr. Bryan Kelly of the Hospital for Special surgery in New York. "He told me, "I have seen hips worse than yours with guys who played at a high level and had great careers," Thomas told ESPN. "At the moment, yes, I am injured, but I have made progress from May." All along, Boston has believed it was clear in its assessment of Thomas' physical status and that the information was communicated to the Cavaliers in the conversations before Tuesday's trade, league sources said. In a telephone conference call with reporters after the trade was announced, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge admitted that Thomas' physical condition played "some" role in trading him to Cleveland as part of the Irving package. Cleveland had significantly valued the 2018 Nets pick in the trade, and Boston believed it allowed for Thomas' physical uncertainty in the current terms of the deal, league sources said.
