Before this year’s trade rumors, before the vaccination issues and before the formation of a new super team in Brooklyn (or so it seemed), there was the trade that shipped Kyrie Irving from Cleveland to Boston.
On Aug. 30, 2017, the Celtics acquired Irving in a blockbuster deal after the All-Star guard had requested a trade a month earlier. The news sent shockwaves throughout the NBA, as the Cavaliers had just made their third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals in June.
Irving joined Gordon Hayward, who had signed with Boston in free agency, and young forwards Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum on a Celtics squad that was ready to compete for a title. The Cavs, led by a still-in-his-prime LeBron James, were hoping that their return package would keep them in the championship conversation.
Unfortunately for Boston and Cleveland, the trade didn’t quite work out as they had hoped.
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Kyrie Irving trade details
Celtics receive:
Cavaliers receive:
- Jae Crowder
- Isaiah Thomas
- Ante Zizic
- 2018 first-round pick (became Collin Sexton)
- 2020 second-round pick (became Skylar Mays)
The headliners: Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas
Irving earned All-Star selections in each of his two seasons with the Celtics, averaging 24.1 points, 6.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 127 games. However, Irving dealt with health and chemistry problems throughout his time in Boston.
He was limited to 60 games in 2017-18 and missed the entirety of the 2018 NBA Playoffs due to a knee injury. In October 2018, Irving declared that he planned on re-signing with the Celticsbut after a bumpy 2018-19 campaign and disappointing postseason performance, he signed with the Nets in free agency.
Then, uh, a bunch of stuff happened.
Thomas experienced similar struggles in Cleveland. The two-time All-Star failed to rediscover his old form following offseason hip surgery, only playing in 15 games for the Cavaliers. Due to the severity of his injury, Boston was forced to send additional compensation to Cleveland (the 2020 second-rounder) in order to complete the trade.
In February 2018, the Cavs sent Thomas to the Lakers as part of a deadline deal that brought back Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. Thomas has bounced around the league since being included in that trade, most recently playing limited minutes for the Hornets.
The role players: Jae Crowder and Ante Zizic
Crowder also did not last long in Cleveland. The scrappy forward, who had developed into a solid role player in Boston, played in just 53 games for the Cavaliers. He was traded before the 2018 deadline in a three-team deal that put George Hill and Rodney Hood on a plane to Cleveland.
After making stops in Utah, Memphis and Miami, Crowder found success in Phoenix. He was a member of the Suns squad that reached the 2021 NBA Finals and finished with the best record in the NBA in 2021-22.
Zizic, a former first-round pick, lasted three seasons as a backup big man with the Cavs, averaging 6.0 points and 3.9 rebounds in 113 games. He is currently playing for Anadolu Efes, a pro team based in Turkey.
The NBA Draft picks: Collin Sexton and Skylar Mays
The 2018 first-round pick ended up landing at No. 8 overall, a tough break for the Cavaliers considering prospects like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Deandre Ayton and Jaren Jackson Jr. weren’t going to drop outside of the top five. Cleveland selected Sexton in that slot, and although he has developed into a solid guard, he isn’t on the same level as Doncic or Young.
Sexton, who sat out the majority of last season because of a knee injury, finds himself in an odd situation five years after the Irving trade, as he is still a restricted free agent with the 2022-23 season fast approaching. There is reportedly a significant “financial gap” between Sexton’s camp and the Cavs.
Mays, the last piece of the Irving deal, was ultimately drafted by the Hawks in 2020. That pick went on a wild journey: from Miami to Boston (2015), from Boston to Cleveland (2017), from Cleveland to Sacramento (2018) and from Sacramento to Atlanta (2020).
The LSU product is currently an unrestricted free agent.