On Thursday, Cleveland Cavaliers have officially introduced their newest acquisitions Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, and Ante Zizic. The official Twitter account of the Cavs posted the picture of players holding their new jerseys with capitation “Sharp.”
Sharp. 🔥🔥🔥
🖥: https://t.co/G2v7jbX2xM pic.twitter.com/PWWeGSaJIL
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) September 7, 2017
“I’m excited to play here..it’s a match made in heaven. I want to be the greatest player to ever play… that’s how it was in Boston & how it will be in Cleveland” – said Thomas at the press conference.
Although Thomas is currently dealing with a hip injury, the Cavs were reluctant to comment on the topic. “To be fair to Isaiah, we’re not going to address any specifics on his hip injury” – said Cleveland Cavaliers GM Koby Altman. While no one knows how much will Thomas’ recovery take, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue did confirm that the player won’t be ready for the beginning of the season.
The initial trade that was agreed two weeks ago saw Cavs sending Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics and acquiring Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and Ante Zizic alongside Brooklyn Nets 2018 first round pick. After Thomas’ medical showed that his hip injury was more serious than it was suspected, the trade was put on hold. Cavaliers felt that they didn’t get enough value for Irving, and requested additional assets for trade to be finalized. Celtics caved at the end and agreed to include Miami Heat’s 2020 second-round draft pick in the package.
After the trade was made, there were lots of opposing thoughts on who won this trade. On one end, Celtics got a superstar player in his prime, who still has two years left on his contract. On the other end, Cavaliers got two starters in Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder who can make an immediate impact alongside being set for the future with a promising player in Ante Zizic and a draft pick that could well end up being the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. The conclusion is that both teams did a good job, but on the Cavaliers end, this will mostly depend on how well Thomas recovers from his injury.
