Isaiah Thomas: Butt Nugget

[buzzdog]

IT better start getting his land legs under him pretty soon. The natives are getting restless.

 

[David.]

Awesome. Jalen Rose came out on national TV and called Pierce (to his face) "Petty" for not letting IT have a tribute. Pierce continued to be a bitch and also said it was something about it being his birthday. Jalen's response, it's alot of people's birthday that day.

... That is absolutely incredible work by Jalen. I am genuinely impressed.

 

[ajz20]

We needed a full camp and pre season with this guy healthy. He looks like several several weeks away from being the pre injury Thomas, and even then it will take several weeks if not months to build chemistry. Given the injury and how that has set this season back, we really should have demanded someone like Rozier or Smart. We might only get full IT for like 20 percent of the season if that then he hits free agency. He may not be himself himself until next season.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

We needed a full camp and pre season with this guy healthy. He looks like several several weeks away from being the pre injury Thomas, and even then it will take several weeks if not months to build chemistry. Given the injury and how that has set this season back, we really should have demanded someone like Rozier or Smart. We might only get full IT for like 20 percent of the season if that then he hits free agency. He may not be himself himself until next season.

Can't believe we didn't ask for either one of them... baffling.

What did they expect us to run with for the bigger part of the season? Jose and Rose? I'm sorry but that's too optimistic.

Smart although a shitty shooter would have helped our defense significantly and when IT got back would have allowed us to have him guard the ball handler and let IT guard the weakest player on the floor.

 

[Dupp]

I thought we did ask for Rozier?

 

[TitleTown]

Now that it looks likely that IT will return to 100%, what is his value for trades? There has to be some team out there that would consider his star power and playmaking ability...right?

Could we package him and Crowder together for another team hoping to replicate last year's Celtics? What about packaging him with Shumpert? That's a nice guard combination for the right team with cap space.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Now that it looks likely that IT will return to 100%, what is his value for trades? There has to be some team out there that would consider his star power and playmaking ability...right?

Could we package him and Crowder together for another team hoping to replicate last year's Celtics? What about packaging him with Shumpert? That's a nice guard combination for the right team with cap space.

Why is it likely? I don't think he is going to return to 100 without surgery. The guy walks like a gangster because of his hip issue.

I hope he shows some burst soon because we are going to need his prior ability to break down the defense. Must be said that he is miles ahead of Irving as far as passing goes.

 

[cavsfever]

Can't believe we didn't ask for either one of them... baffling.

What did they expect us to run with for the bigger part of the season? Jose and Rose? I'm sorry but that's too optimistic.

Smart although a shitty shooter would have helped our defense significantly and when IT got back would have allowed us to have him guard the ball handler and let IT guard the weakest player on the floor.

The trade was incredibly one-sided for Boston. They significantly upgraded their PG position, let go of two players they had zero need for and were actually blocking development of other players (Crowder and Zizic), and gave us only one asset of any meaning at all to them (the Nets pick). And the Nets pick was highly expendable since they have a ton of developing young guys in the pipeline, a very young starting lineup, and most important of all, still have a TON of first round picks (all of their own picks, the possible Lakers pick, the Sacramento pick in 2019, a Memphis first round pick between 2019 and 2021, etc.). It really benefited the Celtics a lot -- do you think they wanted to deal with having IT out for half the year then negotiate for a possible max contract with their most popular player who they actually didn't want to keep?

Given a trade that was that one-sided there was certainly room for us to negotiate for more but we just didn't succeed in doing it. No one should have let Koby Altman in a room with Danny Ainge without adult supervision. Unfortunately, I'm not sure there is any adult supervision available in the Cavs front office.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

The trade was incredibly one-sided for Boston. They significantly upgraded their PG position, let go of two players they had zero need for and were actually blocking development of other players (Crowder and Zizic), and gave us only one asset of any meaning at all to them (the Nets pick). And the Nets pick was highly expendable since they have a ton of developing young guys in the pipeline, a very young starting lineup, and most important of all, still have a TON of first round picks (all of their own picks, the possible Lakers pick, the Sacramento pick in 2019, a Memphis first round pick between 2019 and 2021, etc.). It really benefited the Celtics a lot -- do you think they wanted to deal with having IT out for half the year then negotiate for a possible max contract with their most popular player who they actually didn't want to keep?

Given a trade that was that one-sided there was certainly room for us to negotiate for more but we just didn't succeed in doing it. No one should have let Koby Altman in a room with Danny Ainge without adult supervision. Unfortunately, I'm not sure there is any adult supervision available in the Cavs front office.

"They didn't budge" "Ainge wasn't going to trade any more assets!"

Celtics were desperate with IT mostly out for the majority of the season and without IT they would have had significant problems getting a good seed or in worst game reaching the playoffs(especially with Hayward injured). We had all the leverage, but we just couldn't take advantage of the situation probably. Cavs should have reached out to Kyrie and talk him out of it and explore trade options meanwhile without looking desperate.

 

[cavsfever]

Why is it likely? I don't think he is going to return to 100 without surgery. The guy walks like a gangster because of his hip issue.

I hope he shows some burst soon because we are going to need his prior ability to break down the defense. Must be said that he is miles ahead of Irving as far as passing goes.

His shooting looked improved in the Orlando game, which was a very good sign. But like you, I am concerned about his burst. Last year he was getting by his first man effortlessly one on one, so far this year he needs a pick and clearly looks slower. I am hoping this is just due to getting back in shape. There's no way to practice breaking down a defense at NBA speeds without actually playing.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

His shooting looked improved in the Orlando game, which was a very good sign. But like you, I am concerned about his burst. Last year he was getting by his first man effortlessly one on one, so far this year he needs a pick and clearly looks slower. I am hoping this is just due to getting back in shape. There's no way to practice breaking down a defense at NBA speeds without actually playing.

Wasn't Kyrie almost as explosive from the get go after his knee injury?

Hip injuries just involve every damn muscle surrounding the area... his muscles have to compensate because of his structural damage... his hamstrings, glutes... just a tough injury for a professional player that has to grind 82 games a year.

 

[cavsfever]

"They didn't budge" "Ainge wasn't going to trade any more assets!"

Celtics were desperate with IT mostly out for the majority of the season and without IT they would have had significant problems getting a good seed or in worst game reaching the playoffs(especially with Hayward injured). We had all the leverage, but we just couldn't take advantage of the situation probably. Cavs should have reached out to Kyrie and talk him out of it and explore trade options meanwhile without looking desperate.

LOL at all the "Ainge wouldn't budge!" nonsense. All this means is that Ainge is a good negotiator and won't give you anything until you make a credible threat to walk away. We would have lost NOTHING by walking away since that trade would have been available all season long and once we made the trade we guaranteed we wouldn't have our starting PG for half the season no matter what.

As you say, the Celtics were pretty desperate. We rescued their ass, straight up.

I am not an NBA insider but have participated in some high-stakes negotiations in my time. My guess would be that Ainge as a good negotiator made a starting offer of something like IT/Crowder/Zizic, stuck with that offer for many rounds of negotiation, until the Cavs were salivating with eagerness to get the Nets pick, and then "reluctantly" added the Nets pick on at the last minute. When all the while he was perfectly willing to let the Nets pick go. That's what I would have done, it's the obvious move. Then the Cavs immediately rolled over.

 

[Cavatt]

Wasn't Kyrie almost as explosive from the get go after his knee injury?

Hip injuries just involve every damn muscle surrounding the area... his muscles have to compensate because of his structural damage... his hamstrings, glutes... just a tough injury for a professional player that has to grind 82 games a year.

Took Kyrie a month to get his speed back and almost the whole year to get his 3 going

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Took Kyrie a month to get his speed back and almost the whole year too get his 3 going

Okay. Now take off the disagree or I will go after you eventhough you were good to me in the agree/disagree ratio up until this point.

I guess IT's lack of burst is more glaring because that's what made him the player that he is. Kyrie's dribbling and herky jerky moves made it seem much less obvious.

 

[bigfoot5415]

Took Kyrie a month to get his speed back and almost the whole year too get his 3 going

People think 2016 was a breeze just because we won.