The major trade between the Cavaliers and Celtics hit a snag over the condition of Isaiah Thomas, which has Cleveland apparently seeking more compensation.
The Cavs and Celtics on Tuesday agreed to a trade that would see Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the Brooklyn Nets’ 1st-round pick (held by Boston) sent to Cleveland for Kyrie Irving. Late Friday, news came out that the Cavs were considering backing out over concerns about Thomas’ hip.
The thinking now is that the Cavs are trying to get more out of Boston to complete the trade.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke down what Cleveland is now seeking. He says they want Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, or a future draft pick added to the trade.
“Now, Cleveland is going to try to inquire about a couple of the Celtics’ young players — Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, who they tried to get in the original trade — that is very unlikely. But Boston still has a war chest of future first-round picks of their own, and some picks they control from other teams, and Cleveland is going to try to get one more of those to finalize this deal,” Wojnarowski reports.
Woj also explained the discord between the Celtics and Cavs surrounding the trade.
“Boston is resisting, and will initially at least, resist this idea,” Wojnarowski said. “Boston believes that it was completely transparent with Cleveland about where Thomas was physically — his rehab. Cleveland’s version of this is that they didn’t realize how long Thomas could potentially be out this season. He’s in the final year of his contract, and obviously that matches up with what will likely be the final year of LeBron’s current deal, and so there’s going to be a showdown between these two teams that may last a couple more days.”
Even if Cleveland wants more out of the deal, Boston reportedly is unlikely to sweeten the pot. We’re also guessing that if the Celtics end up throwing in any additional compensation, it would be one of their draft picks (expected to be low based on where they will finish), rather than a player they just took in the lottery like Brown or Tatum.
