Report: Cavs have not actually asked for more in the Thomas trade...yet
Per a source, as of yesterday afternoon the Cavs had made no request to Boston for more on Kyrie-IT trade— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) August 28, 2017
Amidst a sea of reports the Cavs will be asking for Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum to complete the trade, this wrinkle is certainly interesting. It could be that all this noise was merely a ploy to gauge the potential fallout of actually pushing for a better deal now that Cleveland seems to think it has Danny Ainge in a vulnerable position (they don't - if anything, they risk harming their own future deals).
At this point it seems pretty clear that by voiding a such a deal, at best they would be in a situation comparable to Boston, with disgruntled players having to return to their former team under duress. However, they would likely find themselves with the added problem of needing to hammer out a deal with a GM of a team Irving may be less willing to waive his trade kicker to who may also be wary of getting involved with a front office with suspect negotiating practices.
While Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas could both be challenges to get to "buy-in" after such a failed deal, losing Thomas for nothing became a real possibility the moment he signaled his intention to only sign a max deal in an economy that isn't supporting them. And Crowder's low-cost deal for his level of production would be quite easy to move - perhaps for a competent starting point guard should Isaiah's hip - or ego - be too damaged to function effectively.
doesn't look like a team ready to void a deal if you ask me #ICallBullshit https://t.co/3GuD8AjB3M— justin quinn (@justinquinnn) August 28, 2017
Whatever is going on, Dan Gilbert is behind it, that you can be sure of. You can also be sure of another thing - however this goes down, the Celtics are going to be OK.
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Follow Justin at @justinquinnn
