NBA Trade Grades: Cavaliers trade Kyrie Irving to Celtics for big haul

The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to send Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas and a large trade package. Here are NBA Trade Grades for both sides.

Just when the 2017 NBA offseason had finally reached a lull, Kyrie Irving‘s trade request from a few weeks back reared its head and ultimately came to its dramatic conclusion.

With the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ star point guard asking to be moved out of LeBron James‘ shadow, the franchise — coming off an NBA Finals defeat in its third straight trip to the championship series — had a big decision to make.

General manager Dan Gilbert was no longer around, LeBron was reportedly disgruntled over his GM’s departure and now the team’s star point guard wanted out. A trade for a rebuild package would’ve nudged King James closer to the door with his 2018 free agency looming, while a move for established talent might have left Cleveland with an aging, mediocre group if the Cavs fell short in the Finals again and LeBron bolted.

As such, new GM Koby Altman had to walk the line between acquiring star-caliber talent to help James compete now, and providing the Cavs with a fallback plan in case both Kyrie and LeBron were no longer on the roster in 2018.

In a deal with the Boston Celtics that was originally reported by The Vertical‘s Shams Charania before the details trickled in through ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, Dave McMenamin, Brian Windhorst and Jeff Goodman, the Cavaliers were able to accomplish that seemingly impossible task.

According to reports, the two sides have agreed on a deal that will send Kyrie to Beantown in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Celtics’ 2018 first round draft pick via the Brooklyn Nets.

With such a blockbuster deal breaking up the doldrums of August, it’s time for some NBA Trade Grades to examine how each side fared in this surprising move.