Cavs & # 39; Gilbert: & # 39; We killed him with the Kyrie trade

Isaiah Thomas, Ante Zizic and Jae Crowder, who traded Kyrie Irving against Boston for a future first-round pick, were a real win for the Cavaliers.

That's what the owner of Cleveland, Dan Gilbert, feels, in any case, a feeling expressed by The Cleveland Plain Dealer Wednesday. Quoting Irving's desire to be exchanged – and his agent hinting at his need to be operated on knee-he was not being treated – Gilbert called the escape of Cavs from the tricky situation that presented itself as a victory for the franchisee.

"We could have ended up with nothing. Look back after all the movements [general manager] Koby [Altman] done, we killed in this trade, "said Gilbert.

Irving earned an average of 24.1 points, 6.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds en route to two star matches over his two years with the Celtics. However, he missed the playoffs in 2018 due to injury, before Boston was defeated 4-1 in the second round against Milwaukee in 2019. Irving is an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Cleveland, meanwhile, used the choice of Nets he acquired in the trade to recruit Collin Sexton, who won the honors of the second rookie team in 2018-19. Zizic has shown promise as a Cavs relief center this season, while Crowder and Thomas were traded again just months after their acquisition by Cleveland.