Update: They figured it out! The Celtics managed to keep Jayson Tatum and land Kyrie Irving, while the Cavs got Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the unprotected Brooklyn 2018 draft pick. Full details on the trade can be found here.
Original Story:
Fireworks are flying in the NBA world, as word broke Tuesday evening that the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers are in advanced discussions on a deal that would involve Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas. However, there might be a sticking point in the negotiations and, as usual, it would involve Celtics general manager Danny Ainge trying to hold on to a young asset.
Woj says the Celtics are negotiating to keep Jayson Tatum out of the deal and appease Cleveland with other pieces. https://t.co/ZjxyYWrF6Q
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) August 22, 2017
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN indicated on SportsCenter that the Celtics don’t want to part with No. 3 overall pick Jayson Tatum and that was echoed by a report from CSNNE.com.
A league source tells CSNNE.com that the Cavs didn’t want to do a deal with the Celtics if Tatum, taken with the third overall pick in last June’s NBA draft by Boston, wasn’t included.
A different league source said the two teams are negotiating now and that the inclusion of Tatum has been among the possible options as far as getting a deal done.
As noted above, it is anything but surprising to see that the Celtics would be hesitant to include Tatum. Because Thomas is already in the deal and Boston would need to add an additional eight figures in salary, Ainge would have to part ways with something of value, if only to make the trade work under salary cap rules.
In addition, there is the other potential discussion of draft compensation, which is another potential pothole to navigate in these discussions. Jayson Tatum may never be a player that operates on the same plane as Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas but, for now, it appears as if he could be holding up progress on a legitimate blockbuster.
(Via CSNNE)
