The Cavaliers are playing hardball. In my opinion, they are playing dirty. In trade talks between the Cavs and Celtics, Boston was reportedly forthcoming with all medical information on Isaiah Thomas. The two teams agreed to a trade. The Celtics would send the Brooklyn Nets first-round pick next season along with Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and Ante Zizic to Cleveland in exchange for Kyrie Irving. The two teams forged the agreement based on the understanding of the health of Thomas’ hip.
During Game One of the 2017 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 17, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Faulty Memory?
A couple days after the trade, news leaked that the Cavaliers had concerns with Isaiah Thomas’ hip. Reports said they might ask for more compensation in the trade. They already had the information when they agreed upon the above deal, which, come on, is quite a nice haul.
This is where I believe the Cavaliers are playing dirty, using the media to their advantage. They knew the condition of Thomas’ hip when they made the deal. They decided to go through with the agreement and then leak this information to the media a few days later to put pressure on the Celtics. The Celtics fan base was stoked at bringing Kyrie Irving on board. What would happen if the trade didn’t go through? Cleveland knew they would have Danny Ainge in a bind. Hence my opinion that they planned to squeeze as much out of the Celtics as they could.
In the end, the Celtics should not cave. They can’t let the Cavaliers bully them into adding more to a trade that was already incredibly fair. If adding a second-round pick will do it, that’s okay. Reports of Cleveland wanting Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum added to the deal belong in the circular file.