Cavs reportedly trade Irving to Celtics for Thomas, other assets

The Cavaliers are acquiring a starting point guard in Thomas, a versatile player on a team-friendly contract in Crowder and an attractive Nets’ pick.

In addition to Irving being a slight upgrade over Thomas, who had a monster scoring season with the Celtics in 2016-17, Irving is under contract through the 2018-19 season.

The Celtics are likely to throw in one of their many draft pick assets to make this deal work as they own seven first-round picks in the next three drafts.

Irving’s first regular-season game for Boston will be against Cleveland as the Cavs will host the Celtics on October 17 – a date being circled by fans already.

Thomas had been bracing for the possibility of a trade on Tuesday, league sources said.

The last domino of the National Basketball Association offseason has fallen as the Cleveland Cavaliers have finally granted Kyrie Irving his request.

The Celtics, in this trade, have positioned themselves as the best team in the Eastern Conference and a legitimate threat to give the defending champion Warriors a real test in a potential NBA Finals matchup.

Thomas has made the All-Star team in two straight seasons. He’s also set to enter the final year of his deal worth $6.3 million. The Celtics figured that Irving’s old max deal for the next couple seasons is far more beneficial than having to pay Thomas the new max deal in 2018. He averaged 21.6 points and 5.5 assists over his six seasons here.

With Irving, the Celtics get a top 3 point guard in his prime with years left on his contract. Crowder is a 27-year-old defensive ace, who averaged 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds last year.