The trade between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers that saw Kyrie Irving head to Boston in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, among other pieces, is something very few saw coming. Likewise, the holdups in this potential deal have also caught many by surprise.
Thomas has been dealing with a hip injury that cut his playoff run short last season and it has yet to completely heal. After giving him a physical, the Cavaliers are reportedly not happy with Thomas’ condition and reportedly may ask for additional pieces from Boston in order to complete the deal.
That possibility, however, does not sit well with the Celtics and according to Chris Mannix of The Vertical, the Celtics are expected to strongly resist any additions to the deal:
Boston believes it was completely transparent w/Cleveland on IT's hip injury, per sources. Expect Celtics to strongly resist any sweetener.
— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixYS) August 26, 2017
The possibility of a standoff between the Celtics and Cavaliers could put this deal in jeopardy. If Boston believes they were open about Thomas’ condition they won’t want to give anything up. Likewise, if Cleveland feels they were mislead about it, and don’t believe he’ll be ready for the start of the season, they could want another pick or player to make up for it.
Voiding this deal would make for an extremely awkward situation. As Lakers fans experienced with the vetoed Chris Paul deal, trying to bring back a player after initially trading him (Lamar Odom in the Lakers case) can be very difficult as players can feel betrayed by the organization and won’t want to return.
At this stage, it would seem very unlikely that this deal becomes voided by either side and both teams clearly want to push it through. One of them may have to blink in this potential standoff, however, and neither seems inclined to do so.
