CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Kyrie Irving won the Kyrie Irving trade.
He didn't want to play in the long shadow of LeBron James. As he told Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, he wanted to be "the focal point" of a franchise.
He became that in Boston, which is not just any franchise. The Celtics are iconic. Irving instantly became the "face of the franchise" that is legendary.
After three trips to the NBA Finals and one title, there is little doubt Irving enjoyed winning.
But he wanted more. He wanted to be mentioned along with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, James and other NBA superstars.
Would Irving have needed knee surgery had he remained with the Cavaliers?
We'll never know.
But there was something wrong with Irving's knee last summer when he demanded the Cavs trade him. According to a report by Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon , Irving threatened the Cavs with having knee surgery if they didn't trade him.
At first, it seemed like a power play.
But then Irving had not one but two surgeries this spring. They were done on the same knee he fractured in the 2015 NBA Finals.
The first surgery was to remove a wire in the knee. A second was to remove some screws in the knee that became infected .
His last game was on March 11.
The Celtics are optimistic about their All-Star guard making a full recovery. But there has to be some concern about a player having three procedures on the same knee since 2015.
WHAT IF?
I'm going to assume Irving's knee would have had similar problems if he'd remained with the Cavs. That seems fair, given no traumatic injury such as a fall led to his current problems.
Would the Cavs have made a fourth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals without Irving -- or the players who came in later trades?
Let's think about it:
- The Cavs originally received Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and a draft pick that will be No. 8 in next month's 2018 NBA Draft.
- Only Zizic and the pick remain with the Cavs. I like Zizic, the 6-foot-10 center, a long-term prospect. He scored 119 points in 214 minutes, shooting 73 percent from the field. He has a lot of savvy inside moves and is only 21.
- If you connect all the deals made later, rookie general manager Koby Altman pulled off some trades that possibly saved the season and set up the climb to the 2018 NBA Finals.
- Thomas was used as part of a trade to bring Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson to the Cavs. Both are under contract for next season, which also is important.
- Thomas had hip surgery and there is a question mark about his future. He is a free agent.
- Nance has had some very productive moments in the postseason. Clarkson was very good in the regular season, but has struggled in the playoffs.
- The Cavs shipped Crowder and Derrick Rose to Utah. As part of the same deal, they sent Iman Shumpert to Sacracmento.
- Those moves netted George Hill and Rodney Hood.
- Hood has been a major disappointment. He seems lost with the Cavs and unhappy. He is a restricted free agent. Not sure if he will be back next season.
- Hill is a veteran point guard. He fits in well with James. He is under contract for next season.
WHERE THE CAVS STAND - If the Cavs had kept Irving, they would not have him in the postseason.
- If they kept Thomas, he also would not have played.
- If Irving comes back strong, Boston made a good deal. But that knee has to be a concern.
- Hill has been a key player for the Cavs in the postseason. Nance can rebound, defend and bring energy off the bench. They helped the Cavs reach The Finals.
- Without all of these trades, it's likely another Eastern team besides the Cavs would have reached The Finals.
- Dan Gilbert also deserves credit for adding about $10 million in luxury tax with those mid-season deals. They will pay about $50 million in tax and have a total payroll of $190 million -- second highest in NBA history according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
- Once again, Gilbert made a major investment to help the Cavs and LeBron James return to The Finals.
- James responded with perhaps the most epic postseason performance in his 15-year career. As time passed, he began to gain faith in his new teammates.
IN THE BACKGROUND
When Gilbert decided not to extend the contract of popular general manager David Griffin, the owner first tried to hire Chauncey Billups. The former Piston guard and current ESPN analyst turned down the job.
Griffin's assistant was Altman, who was running the team while Gilbert was trying to coax Billups into taking the job.
Finally, the owner gave it to Altman -- who was under tremendous pressure. At the age of 35, he was actually No. 3 in the front office -- behind Griffin and top assistant Trent Redden.
Redden left the Cavs with Griffin and now works for the Clippers.
Altman had to find a deal for Irving -- who made it harder by waiting until after the draft.
Then he had to make more trades when Thomas and Crowder failed to blend in with the team. Some of the blame for that has to fall to the front office.
But then so does some of the credit for the next wave of trades.
As Altman correctly said, " We were knocking on death's door" before his mid-season trades.
This is not to say Altman made great deals. But it is to say Irving's knee injury is a reality. And Hill and Nance have helped in the postseason.
The No. 8 pick and Zizic could pay off in the future.
Altman has a young front office as he's aided by Brock Aller, Jon Nichols, Tony Leotti and Mike Gansey.
These men still have to prove they can use the draft pick wisely, and they could face a huge challenge if James leaves.
But in the short term, their dealing helped the Cavs reach the NBA Finals.
SOURCE: https://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf/2018/05/cleveland_cavaliers_taking_ano.html
