RE: Celtics and Cavaliers swap All-Stars (Jim Shorts Reports)
I'm going to have to say that this is a brilliant move by the Cavs. Thomas plays slightly worse defense than Irving but is more of a playmaker. IT4 had ~200 iso plays ran for him last year, while Irving had ~400. This hopefully will let Lebron rest more and not have the ball stop moving when he's off the floor. Crowder gives them scoring and solid defense off the bench which is something they had nothing of last year. The best part is the Nets pick (probably top 10), which gives them insurance for Lebron in case he leaves, or they use it in a trade package for another star. Oh, and don't sleep on Zizic who is a legit 20 year old, 7 foot, prospect coming over from dominating the same league that Dario Saric, Jusuf Nurkic and Nikola Jokic came over from. Although he is still developing, he should be a bruising big body coming off the bench increasing their depth at center.
I honestly think they did the best they could and I really don't think they hurt their chances of going to the finals. I also anticipate that Dwayne Wade will be on the Cavs at some point the season. Should be interesting.