The Cleveland Cavaliers have traded point guard Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics for guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic, and the Brooklyn Nets' 2018 first-round pick.
Irving finally gets his wish to be out from under LeBron James' shadow in Cleveland as he joins the Cavs' biggest competition in the Eastern Conference in Boston. Now Kyrie will get to be the leading man with the Celtics while maintaining a solid supporting cast with former All-Stars Gordon Heyward and Al Horford remaining in Boston.
Irving scored a career-high 25.2 points in 2016-17 while posting a 30.8% usage rate for Cleveland. He ranked 23rd, out of 486 NBA players last season, with an 8.2 nERD rating.
Source: Shams Charania, The Vertical