After a week-long staring contest, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics finally reached an agreement in the Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas trade, with the Cavs managing to squeeze the Celtics for a 2020 second-round pick to sweeten the pot. The two teams had reached an impasse after Thomas underwent a physical in Cleveland last week that allegedly revealed more problems with his injured hip.
Frustration had mounted on all sides, and that included both the fans and the media who had been tasked with keeping close tabs as the situation unfolded. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday when Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news, and many took to Twitter to vent and/or offer their take on the biggest and strangest blockbuster trade in recent memory and how an additional future second round pick was all that changed hands after eight days of back-and-forth.
This is like continuing to pump the gas ever so gently so you can get it from $19.96 to $20 even.
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) August 31, 2017
If I were Danny Ainge, I'd have made the Cavs take the Dropkick Murphys
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) August 31, 2017
mrs. windhorst: all week for a 2020 second rounder??!!??
— alex (@steven_lebron) August 31, 2017
Isaiah got traded out of nowhere & dragged for a week. He went from Brinks truck to a summer where his value is in question. Ridiculous
— John Karalis 🇬🇷🇺🇦 (@John_Karalis) August 31, 2017
The subtle tweak of the Kyrie trade shows how secondary Isaiah Thomas was for the Cavs to that unprotected 2018 Nets first-round pick.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) August 31, 2017
Some even went so far as to predict the resurgence of one of the NBA’s greatest rivalries.
Had a feeling #lakers #celtics would be back sooner rather than later. That may be the 2019 #NBA Finals.
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) August 31, 2017
Then, of course, there was the usual onslaught of memes.
Recap of Cleveland closing the deal: pic.twitter.com/PJJaLga6xC
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) August 31, 2017
when the kyrie trade is finally over and you can now focus on other basketball things pic.twitter.com/7ALXUnLQXV
— Bill DiFilippo (@billdifilippo) August 31, 2017
"IT's hip is trash. Give us Jayson Tatum."
"Ugh fine….BOONK GANG here's a 2nd round pick" pic.twitter.com/EUxZSu4y2s
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) August 31, 2017
All for a future second-round pick pic.twitter.com/uXm8uClZx3
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) August 31, 2017
Live look at Kyrie after waiting on the deal to become official. pic.twitter.com/TNuJNMxe0N
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) August 31, 2017
Kyrie waiting for this trade to be finalized like… pic.twitter.com/16cPLUKnRy
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) August 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/903097000496857088
At least now we can turn our collective attention to what exactly this will mean for both teams and their championship aspirations, which will start with an opening night showdown between the Cavs and the Celtics that is sure to offer all sorts of intrigue, although it’s still unclear whether Thomas’ hip injury will prevent him from actually playing.
