NBA Trade News 2017: Cavs and Celtics Finalize Deal Adding 2020 Pick; Isaiah Thomas Says He'll Be 'the Same Player'
The blockbuster deal between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers has reportedly been finalized as the latter gets another draft pick for 2020. Meanwhile, Isaiah Thomas promised he will be "the same player" after recovering from his hip injury.
The said trade deal faced several hiccups along the way before the Thursday morning deadline arrived.
Cleveland started demanding more after their camp conducted a physical evaluation on Thomas.
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From the initial agreement, Boston gave Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets' first-round 2018 draft pick to Cleveland. After Thomas' physical, Cleveland reportedly asked for another first-round pick to compensate for the player's medical situation that could prevent him from playing some parts of the upcoming season.
Now, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski's league sources told him that Cleveland and Boston reached a deal after the latter agreed to add a 2020 second-round pick via the Miami Heat in the trade deal.
The report added that the Boston Celtics is expected to introduce Kyrie Irving to the media as an official member of the team during a press conference on Friday. Irving is a solid four-time All-Star player and has ended the 2016-17 season averaging 25.2 points, 5.8 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game.
On the other hand, Thomas has also been named an All-Star player twice during his six-year pro basketball career. He also had a stellar 2016-17 season as he averaged 28.9 points, 5.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game.
Needless to say, Thomas' need to recover from his hip injury was what gave Cleveland the opening to demand more from this blockbuster trade. However, the player commented that despite the fact that he could miss some games, he knows he can perform just as good as he did before he got injured.
In the same ESPN report, Thomas commented: "Maybe I am not going to be back as soon this season as everyone wants me to be, but I'm going to be back, and I'm going to be the same player again. No doctor has told me anything different than that."
