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The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to trade Kyrie Irving. We know that is the case, however the where and what are still to be determined. The Cavs cleared have some trepidation as a result of the physical for Isaiah Thomas. As a result of this, the team has re-engaged the Boston Celtics to review the terms of the deal.
While some reports indicated that the Cavs have inquired on what it would take to have Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum included in the deal, according to cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon the team has not yet made a request for additional assets to complete the deal:
Per a source, as of yesterday afternoon the Cavs had made no request to Boston for more on Kyrie-IT trade
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) August 28, 2017
This could be interpreted a few ways, and it’s unlikely we will get the full story until this negotiation is complete. It’s possible that both teams are reviewing all of the possibilities to see what a restructured deal may look like.
It’s also possible that the Cavs believe this is the best offer possible and are willing to go through as planned. But have vocalized their concerns regarding Thomas to the Celtics and are doing some due diligence. Or the team could be discussing with other teams what type of offer they would be willing to make if this trade fell through in an effort to create a bidding war.
We just don’t have much information to go off of. However, I believe both teams are at a point where their best option is to make a deal with one another. If the deal falls apart and Thomas is out for an extended period of time, it dramatically hurts the Celtics outlook for this season. For the Cavs, they would have to deal with an even more unhappy Irving and would have to deal with a weakened bargaining position while trying to salvage a trade with another team.