Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert made some highly criticized comments about the decision to trade away Kyrie Irving.
Sometimes a person in charge of a sports team needs to know when to stop talking. For Dan Gilbert that time is right now. Gilbert made some statements about the Cavaliers decision to trade away Kyrie Irving.
Kyrie Irving is one of the best players in the league. Trading away a player of Irving’s talent is hard to do and say a team “killed it” is a bold statement. While the trade does not appear to be a complete disaster and may eventually turn into something worthwhile, now is not the time to make this statement. Collin Sexton could turn into a player that the Cavaliers rebuild is centralized around, but until the team a definitive statement can be made in that regard, saying the Cavs “killed it” is a mistake.
Yes, Kyrie Irving could have left Cleveland like many expect him to leave Boston. Leaving Cleveland with nothing to show for a superstar caliber player. Cleveland wanted a return for Irving rather than get nothing. Which is the situation that Boston is currently in.
While Kyrie threatened surgery and his trade appeared inevitable, it is very tone deaf to state that the team won the trade. Boston was in position to push for a title and made the deal sending over multiple pieces in return. Only two pieces from the trade are still on the roster, Ante Zizic and Collin Sexton (who was taken with the highly valued Brooklyn pick). The others (Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder) were traded in the middle of the 2017-18 season.
If Dan Gilbert wants to believe his statement and say it in private that is fine. Saying it on the record in an interview was a poor decision. It is important to read the room when it comes to things like this. Apparently Gilbert opted not to do that and looks even worse than many perceive him to be. There is a much more neutral way to address the trade that Gilbert should have taken.
