So there I was sitting on the bus home from work, everything is going well and then I feel my phone buzz. I look down at it, confused but make nothing of what I saw. Later as the night goes on, I get another notification and then that's when it hit me. I felt lost and confused not knowing what to do. That's right, I got a Twitter notification saying Isaiah Thomas has been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Just a few weeks ago, the Celtics had only inquired about Kyrie. When I first heard this rumor I thought nothing much of it since I couldn't see the Celtics trading away the supposed face of the franchise but then it happened. I tried to put my basketball cap on when I heard the details of the trade and wow the Celtics overpaid. Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, the crown jewel, the unprotected nets pick, and a 2020 second round pick that belonged to Miami. No way you should give up that much for the same player more or less.

At first, when I saw this trade, I was initially against it because I felt like (still kind of feel like) they are the same player. The main thing people are excited about is the upgrade on offense Kyrie can bring. However, that may necessarily not be the case. This past season to they had relatively similar numbers while looking at the above chart and a dive into slightly more advanced stats in regards to percentages. Isaiah Thomas had 28.9 ppg 19.4 FGA 46/38% splits 62% True shooting% 10.9 offensive win shares, while Kyrie had: 25.2 ppg 19.7 FGA 47/43% splits 58% True shooting% 7.4 offensive win shares. Yes, those stats show Kyrie shot more (barely), but have you seen his teammates? You'd cover those guys too and you leave Kyrie the chance to shoot more since he can. Whereas Isaiah is covered most of the time pretty well. Just take a closer look, Isaiah has better production on fewer shots and last I checked, a player with better production on fewer shots is better. So the claim Kyrie is much better than Isaiah offensively is a weak one.

But as the days went on, I started to slowly accept this trade (Kyrie's press conference helped). Why? That 2020 second round pick I had mentioned was thrown in because Isaiah's hip is not quite there. Now, I love Isaiah don't get me wrong, but if his hip is this damaged, it makes you think if you'd want damaged goods. He says he doesn't want hip surgery and just to rehab which is fine, I mean we all thought he'd be not available right away. However, after reading a report saying he could be out until all star break, this trade had to made and as painful as it is for me, I can see why Danny made the trade. I'm not entirely on board with the other parts of the deal because Crowder and the Nets pick (Zizic is still too unknown) makes Cleveland better and prepared for the future. The plan was for Cleveland to blow up after this season but you give them Crowder who is under control for 3 years and that Nets pick, Cleveland may still find a way to be relevant. Once the Nets pick was with Cleveland, teams called and this is not a good sign for the Celtics. If the Cavs can get a star with that pick, Lebron may actually stay and you still are looking up to Cleveland. Which is why I had wished Danny placed a protection on the pick instead of making it unprotected because it favors Cleveland too much. Crowder, I can accept because you have to give in order to receive, but for me, the stinger is that Nets pick being unprotected, so Danny better hope the Nets improve this year.

At the end of the day, I understand why Danny did this trade. There's a plan and Kyrie being younger helps go with it. Plus, we don't know what IT's hip will look like too this year and having a healthy Kyrie helps. Am I crazy about the trade? Not yet, Isaiah was our guy and I'm still trying to get over it. As the season goes on, I will accept the trade obviously. For now, I'm still not a fan but basketball-wise, it makes sense and I'll be excited to see what Kyrie can do in green.