Kyrie Irving OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 4: Kyrie Irving #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on during the game against the Golden State Warriors in Game Two of the 2017 NBA Finals on June 4, 2017 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NBABy David Lauterbach on

After over a week of drama, the Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas trade appears done. Boston and Cleveland initially made that deal Aug. 22, but it then seemed likely to fall through following the Cavaliers’ concerns about Thomas’ health. They pushed for the Celtics to up their compensation, and Boston eventually did that, but not to the degree Cleveland had hoped for, adding in just a second-round pick in 2020.

This deal, and the Cavs’ attempt to hold out for more, went almost right down to the wire. At 10:13 PM EST on Wednesday, less than 12 hours ahead of the deadline to complete the trade, Cleveland still wanted at least a first-round pick. That’s according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin:

However, just 10 minutes later, Wojnarowski scooped himself.

So what’s the agreement!?

Oh, okay, so this trade nearly didn’t happen, but is now happening thanks to a 2020 second-round pick. That’s three years from now. Assuming the one-and-done rule is still in effect then, 18-year-olds born in 2002 will be drafted in 2020. As a result, it’s very likely that 2020 pick could be used on an 18-year-old college freshmen who is currently only 15 and starting 10th grade. That’s weird.

But the thing is, the trade still isn’t that straightforward, because it involves four teams:

The Celtics have the rights to that 2020 Miami pick thanks to the Zoran Dragic trade that occurred on July 27th, 2015. Dragic is the brother of Heat guard Goran Dragic, and he’s now playing in Europe. Back in 2015, Boston acquired him, Miami’s 2020 second-round pick, and cash considerations for their own 2019 second-round pick, and they then waived Dragic soon afterwards. So that pick swap let them pull this off. And they’d already included another pick, Brooklyn’s 2018 first-rounder. Here’s how it breaks down now:

This trade is ridiculously complicated. But then again, Celtics’ fans don’t care how crazy of a trade it is, the are just happy Kyrie is going to Boston.

And without too much extra compensation, too, which has some praising GM Danny Ainge’s hard line:

https://twitter.com/StatLine247/status/903083104130273280

https://twitter.com/zombieman617/status/903083178247823361

On top of all the Celtics fans taking to Twitter to express their praise for the trade finally being finished, plenty of people were noting how silly it seemed for a trade to be held up this long and then completed by a 2020 second round pick.

https://twitter.com/AnAngryChild/status/903082946617331713

https://twitter.com/FitzForMVP/status/903082797857775616

https://twitter.com/Geezer9687/status/903083034672496643

But hey, that was quite the eight days of drama.

[Adrian Wojnarowski/Twitter]

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About David Lauterbach

David is a writer for The Comeback. He enjoyed two Men's Basketball Final Four trips for Syracuse before graduating in 2016. If The Office or Game of Thrones is on TV, David will be watching.

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