Was Masai Ujiri right not to pull trigger on Kyrie Irving deal?
Sometimes the best action is inaction. Was Masai Ujiri right not to the pull trigger on a Kyrie Irving deal?
If you’re part of the 99 percent of the population who watches Game of Thrones then you are probably used to being surprised on Sunday nights.
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However, the biggest surprise of the week might have actually came on Wednesday evening when the Boston Celtics Celtics sent Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and a 2018 first round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Kyrie Irving.
The deal has sent shock waves across the association and individuals could create an argument that either team won the deal.
The Celtics were able to land a champion and one of the most offensively gifted players of his generation. They arguably have assembled the greatest team in the franchise’s history since the Big Three Era that saw three future hall of famers in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen rocking the green.
The Celtics now pair Kyrie with swingman Gordon Hayward who has quickly made a case to be one of the premier wings in the league. In the front court they have one of the best all around big men in the NBA in Al Horford.
The Cavs on the other hand were able to get rid of Kyrie Irving before training camp and were able to land Isaiah Thomas, despite having zero leverage.
Thomas has easily the most heart in the league and his no slouch offensively either.
He averaged just under 29 points and 6 dimes per game during the 2016-17 season.
Thomas also shot over 90 percent from the free throw line while also hitting over three triples a game. His heart was never more on display than when he scored 53 points in an over-time win against the Wizards on the birthday of his late sister.
The Cavs were also able to land Zizic who could play valuable minutes backing up Tristan Thompson.
Jae Crowder is also a solid pickup.
He will be valuable performing the intangibles and guarding the opposing team’s best players which is a luxury that LeBron James did not have last year.
The 2018 first round pick is also a valuable asset. That future player has the potential to be the best player on the Cavs should LeBron choose to depart.
The pick could also be used to leverage a deal to land a star in order to continue the “please stay LeBron campaign“.
After seeing the type of deal that Cleveland pulled the trigger on, I am happy that Masai Ujiri and the Raps management stayed put. I imagine that talks involving Kyrie Irving were not exciting for Raptors management.
It seems that Cleveland was reluctant to deal Kyrie unless they received an all-star caliber point guard in return as well as a young asset and a draft pick at the very least.
If a trade were to be done with the Raps, a likely trade scenario would’ve included Irving for Kyle Lowry, Norm Powell and a first round pick.
In my opinion, the Celtics lost the trade.
Similarly, the Raps would have also lost the trade if it went anything like the above scenario.
The Celtics swapped point guards who have relatively the same skill set.
Both Thomas and Irving have defensive liabilities but are offensive maestros and cold-blooded clutch players. However, they also lost their coveted first round pick and a very solid player in Crowder.
Similarly, the Raps in the above scenario would lose the heart and soul of their team on K-low, and their best young player in Norm Powell as well as a first round pick. For this reason, Masai was right not to pull the trigger on a Kyrie deal.
Kyrie would only further make this squad an isolation heavy one and would have made an already poor defense even worse.
Not to mention that Lowry is the team’s best assist-man and leader. At the same time, Powell is one of the players with the most potential in the league and is not worth giving up on without much in return.
Improving on paper is a lot different than improving in real life, you only need ask the 2013 Los Angeles Lakers and 2014 Brooklyn Nets.
Sometimes the best action is inaction.
Fans are already jumping on the Boston Celtics bandwagon despite no certainty that they have improved.
Perhaps making quiet moves and keeping the core players is the best counter move to a league that is hasty to pull the trigger on deals.
Masai is making the Raps better through a relatively quiet and under the radar off-season.
Maybe Masai is waiting for LeBron to leave for the west in free agency next summer and only next summer will he go all in on the present.
Next: Canadian National Team roster for FIBA AmeriCup 2017.
What are your thoughts on Masai’s lack of moves?
Does the Kyrie deal make the East scarier for you? Would you have liked to have seen Kyrie in the North? Comment down below or our Twitter and Facebook page.