NBA: 5 biggest takeaways from Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas trade

The  Cleveland Cavaliers sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, two other players and a draft pick. Here are the main takeaways from this unprecedented trade.

This NBA offseason took an interesting turn when it was reported that Kyrie Irving expressed a desire to play elsewhere back in July. As a result of this turn of events, the top two teams in the Eastern Conference last season — the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers — engaged in an interesting trade.

The Cavaliers sent Irving to the Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 unprotected first round pick. This move was surprising for a couple of reasons.

For starters, Irving has shined playing alongside LeBron James the last three seasons and in 2016-17, he posted career highs in scoring (25.2 points per game), field goal percentage (47.3 percent) and 3-point percentage (40.1 percent). During his first four years in the league, Irving and the Cavs never won more than 33 games. With James and Irving leading the way, though, the Cavs have advanced to the NBA Finals every season since James returned in 2014.

In spite of the success the Cavs have enjoyed during that stretch, Irving reportedly stated that he wanted to be in a situation where he would be more of a focal point of his own team. What does this shocking move means for the Cavs and Celts?

Here are the main takeaways from this trade.