#IT4S PERFECT THANK YOU

[icharchivist]

it's a bit early, but happy new year! i'll make sure to properly wish you when the time comes, but I did go through the mankai event now so it felt strange not to say it, haha... i was actually thinking about finishing this event new years eve to be appropriate, but i ended up getting a little sick so. might as well do the events now while ive got the time right? also also!! i started a3 almost exactly 2 years ago on jan 1 2021 so i thought it would be nice to maybe try to start act 2 then? since after this i just have the anniversary event and vday magic (i think i'll do one day princess after ch 5). anyways the actual event. as usual i'll go through my thoughts chronologically.

that first opening scene is so good. citron staring at that charm while sakuyas sleeping… now that’s not really any evidence for citron being a light sleeper but in my heart I just KNOW he is okay. and what great sound design!! like all silence. no backing music. just the sound of sakuyas quiet snores. it sets that mood so well so i really felt that the charm citron was staring at must be really important to him...

oh also i want to say this because i felt soooo smart for doing it. the moment that first scene opened with citron i paused and took some notes bc i wanted to guess who else was in the cg lmaooo. with all the act 1 non-play events, there's exactly 11 events. i'm assuming the anniversary event is special so that cg might have the whole a3 cast or smthing like all the leaders? or even like a cg of matsukawa and izumi or something. that'd be cool. but who knows. but without that, its ten, and then theres 2 per event cg which gets u the 20 members of the troupe. excluding inter-troupe pairings, there's 6 unique combinations of seasons you can make: spring summer, spring autumn, spring winter, summer autumn, summer winter, autumn winter. we've had 8 events so far, and 4 unique combinations have been repeated twice: spring summer (tsuzuru&kazunari + itaru&misumi), autumn winter (sakyo&azuma, taichi&tasuku), spring winter (masumi&tsumugi, sakuya&hisoka), and summer autumn (muku&juza, yuki&banri). there's 4 members who haven't gotten event cgs yet, then: citron, tenma, omi, and homare. and there's exactly 2 unique season combinations left: spring autumn and summer winter. suffice to say that when i noticed that omi and citron were in the same cleaning group, and talked to masumi and juza about their talent show thing, and THEN went to get groceries together... i cheered so hard. calculations for the win.

back to chronological thoughts:

i’ve written this before but juza 🤝 yuki: *sees any situation* how do I make this about banri/tenma (derogatory)

nonetheless juzas conception of banri is sooooo funny to me. like banris super smart and talented and juza is like. he’s a weirdo who will draw a face on his stomach and make it talk by moving his muscles. like that’s sooo specific. and then banri immediately being like. I CAN do it! the moment juzas like. oh. …you can’t? like. actually something is weird about both of you (affectionate)

sakyo: aren’t you all forgetting something very important we have to do before the new year

me, nodding sagely: ah yes. annual performance reviews. *cut to next scene* ohhhh they’re just deep cleaning. I was just like. 100% convinced that they needed to do their annual like evaluations. i don't even do those but it's just one of my first associations with the year end i guess???

anyways when they find that duct taped box w/ yuki mentioning they could sell old props for play funding… I don’t know if it’s ever said outright but considering yukis always talking to sakyo abt like costuming and stuff and they collaborated with that kigurumi punishment I have to wonder if yuki has like. a nonzero amount of info on play budgeting as compared to most of the troupe. kazunari. the 14 year old in your troupe knows more about budget management than you. i mean yukis been selling his clothing etc. on the net so maybe he does know a nonzero amount of this kind of thing with like selling props...

it was so cute to see their street act! they’ve come so far. love the way azuma thinks abt it like “how do I jump in here” and goes “I’m going to cause problems. on purpose.” with making a surprise phone call. citron though oh my gosh. its like. yes. he does know what a year end rush is. and abt travel prices. hes not stupid!! but god the way hes like im gonna wish all the grocery staff happy new year as his excuse for searching for his charm... he knows. what he is doing. same with those travel prices its like. citron can be So Loud but hes also so careful to not say much. i want to pat him on the head. unrelated but i didnt realize azuma called citron his highness? i thought monarchy hater no. 1 citron would dislike that a little more. its also making me think if citron has mentioned hes like a prince / royalty...? since azuma calls him that. but ive got to think he hasn't. still more points to my runaway prince citron theory. omi helping him find the charm was so sweet though! its like. wow. nice. still the way citron literally Does Not Say Anything. crazy of him

citron: …it is a very special gift that I received from someone.

me: …guy?

and later w/ citron: never mind. but there is someone in my country who I would like to see again.

me: …guy?

oh but i'm not glossing over the fact that citron has three younger brothers who he's convinced don't want to see him again. runaway prince im telling u. also thats so sad wtf. the citron and omi cg was cute tho! i kind of liked how little this event did in terms of revealing too much like... citron lets a couple of details slip but doesn't really say much at all. which makes sense for his character i think!! man what a great event in terms of making me excited for act 2, though... i hope it comes up when guy shows up!! not to be like. i want to see citron cry. but i want him to get a little emotional yknow. reveal some of ur feelings i want u to be comforted.

i thought a lot of duos for the talent show ep were so cute! like hisoka and homare with homare being like. ill get u special marshmallows even, so do something with me. idk how to express it properly but i feel like in this event especially u can really feel how much joy homare gets by like. simply spending time with hisoka? made me remember their play event. and shakespeare?? In ENGLISH???? im obsessing over this. was it much ado about nothing? what play would be best for them… i haven't read enough shakespeare to make a definitive decision, unfortunately... my personal vote is for othello. homare knows shakespeare in english bc he’s a fan but hisoka… if he’s proficient in english. hm. hmm. more points to him being some kind of assassin/spy/foreign agent thing. like chikage was also overseas probably doing some assassin/spy business for a while, wasn’t he… im watching you.

also tasuku and tsumugi with their pantomiming and the way when itaru compliments him tasuku is IMMEDIATELY like "oh im nothing compared to tsumugi though" like wow. its kind of so nice hearing this out loud bc its like. oh right. this is what they were yelling at each other about in act 1. and then masumi and juza's bartending act. with the rainbow cocktail. masumi and juza, pointing at a3: I know what you are. packing peanuts was my guess for what was inside the box so im glad it was at least like a daruma doll lol. and juza got his sweets! the lil bonus with the ppl staying in the dorm to celebrate the new year was so cute too tho. like when misumi mentioned the triangular carrots.

tenma: d—did you say carrots? why did arisu have to leave me now…

me: tenma and homare friends??? homare eats tenma’s carrots (which he. doesnt like?) for him??? i need to see this. well i'm pretty confident they're gonna be the duo for vday magic so I'm quite excited, haha. oh also in the new years text chat!! is homares screen name alice? i think thats cute. anyways what a sweet event! it didnt leave me feeling anything toooo emotional but it made me REALLY excited for act 2 bc i feel like that's where the real payoff is gonna be yknow? so it was cool in a different way.

AAH HEY HEY HEY! HERE YOU ARE! I needed to be done with the event to properly tackle this ask, thank you for waiting.

First of, thank you for the good wishes <333 Happy New year to you too if we don't get around to say it on the day itself. And saying it because you went through the a3 event makes total sense ahaha

And it's such a good plan with timing! I'd be nice if you manage to reach act 2 by then, i think it's supposed to start late February in the timeline so, at this rhythm you can get in synch with the story as it goes! (and good plan for ODP since it IS set right after chap 5 originally).

ANYWAY WAHOO ALWAYS NICE READING YOUR THOUGHTs, LET'S GO!

And oh god yeah, i can totally picture your HC about Citron being a light sleeper. As for the charm oh man… oh man.

and oh my GOD. THAT'S SO CLEVER HOLY SHIT. i would never have figured it out meanwhile you kept track of all of this!! that's so impressive holy shit!!! your calculation is IMPRESSIVE HERE.

ALHDLKDFJFDLKFD Juza and Yuki, together in being so damn tired of their leader (affectionly but also derogatory)

AND HELPPP I FORGOT ABOUT THIS SCENE. Juza's conception of Banri is truly the funniest, i love that about those two. And the fact Banri can totally catch the bait is what's even funnier. And they were both idiots (and they were both idiots!)

ohmygod you're really set up to be a fellow acting addict now that your first thought was "annual performance review" this is so funny.

And you're totally right about Yuki i think. I don't recall them ever mentioning it directly, but considering how much he's fighting with Sakyo about budget and how often Yuki wins, considering Sakyo isn't exactly the kind to go KINDLY on something just because someone would insult him, it figures Yuki is arguing with proper arguments when it comes to budget. Like, both arguing why he needs expensive material (how it would reflect on the company and all) AND on how to manage the budget to justify it. as you said, Yuki sells clothes online so he's probably the best equiped about it. Which is really impressive, the 14yo is the one the most adjusted to discuss budget with the yakuza. Love that about him.

ohmygod right the street acts are always a nice way to show how they changed. And Azuma <3333 my mister problem. But yes totally agree about everything Citron there (that isn't confirming or unconfirming theory at least). he's very considerate and very smart, his only issue is the grasp on the language, but aside from that? he knows stuff. And sometimes when he acts stupid, that's exactly what it is. an act. He knows when to not say much. For Citron, he never mentioned anything about his past to anyone, but you might want to read the Citron&Muku crossbackstage from the "Others" tab. It's called "Sir Citron's Secret" and probably would give fuel to your theories. (while you're on that tab do look at the Homare&Sakyo one just because it's one of the funniest on the list). As it though, aside from whatever he tells Muku and how serious he is about it, he hasn't really come into details about it to anyone at all, aside from hating the monarchy. So Azuma calling him His Highness is indeed strange. I feel like Azuma definitely got Vibes from Citron (which is mhmmmm considering Azuma is a really good people reader), and it seems that Citron hasn't found in his heart a way to tell Azuma to knock it off. Or perhaps Citron is more annoyed at the idea of ACTING like Royalty (so, with the royal roles he gets), than he is being refered as such? all the more mhmmm things about his behavior for sure.

Omi is so so sweet and so nice yessss and Citron was so interesting this event. I love when the mask falls around Citron for a bit. He remains mysterious in his own way, but it's always fascinating to approach. God the charm. I have many thoughts about the charm. That i will not elaborate on. But so many thoughts.

And god yeah, the sibling situation. It's so sad. Regardless of the details it also does explain why he wants the Spring Troupe to be a family this much and why he ends up caring about his troupesmates so much. (and Muku, who's one of the charas outside of his troupe Citron has a lot of affection for. Re: their crossbackstage)

And yeah i agree, this event was really good for Citron's development without ruining the mystery for now. It's also really a good event to go back to when you do know, it's so fascinating. BUT HELP "I WANT TO SEE CITRON CRY" I SEE YOU. I hope act 2 lives up to your expectations <3

god you pointing out that Homare has so much joy being with Hisoka. Yes you're totally correct. Like, he may complains at time and Hisoka can be so rude but Homare enjoys spending time with him so much. I do love that he bribed him into it though. Homare, of course, is just like that, talking in English and in French and whatever. For Hisoka…. Yeah it sure is shady isn't it. Like wow okay mister amnesia how did you get that.

Tsumu and Tasu being on this vibe was so good. I love how it shows just how complicit they are. And Tasuku gets to be more and more communicative of his feelings. It is, after all, the thing he had to learn, since it's because he didn't know how to talk to his troupesmate, especially Tsumugi, that things went wrong, and he's been learning and it's sweet. THE RAINBOW OMMENT HELPPP.

BUT YESS The preparation for New Year are so sweet. And DLKFJDLKFJFD THE CARROTS. THAT DYNAMIC. But yeah it's pretty much this, Tenma doesn't like carrot, Homare wants him to eat carrots, but as long as Tenma doesn't want to Homare will eat them for him. It's adorable isn't it. AND THE NEW YEAR CHAT YESS IT'S SO SWEET. Homare's name is indeed Alice on here (since his last name is Arisugawa = Arisu, which is pronounced Alice. It's also sweet considering Hisoka always calls him "Arisu" only. also i think it's really cute like, the duo Alice In Wonderland and Sleeping Prince (canon nickname Homare use on Hisoka). They're adorable.)

BUT YEAHHH this event was great. A good lighthearted event for NY and just. so soft all around. I love those guys so much.

And indeed building up some act 2 things which are going to be fun to explore. Looking forward to see you experience it all, since you do have a keen eye at picking stuff up ;DDD

thank you once again for sharing all of this with me. It was a blast to read through and relive, and reminded me of quite a few things (esp since you're entering the territory of material-i-only-read-once, compared to almost everything before that i read a few dozen times ahah). So that's going to be a blast to relive for me as well ;D

thank you so much once again, and happy new year if we don't see each other again before the 1st ;D

Take care <33

[junker-town]

5 reasons the Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas trade makes sense for the Cavs and Celtics

It’s a win-win and the exact kind of trade that applies to both of their unique situations.

Did you think the Cavaliers would really trade Kyrie Irving to their biggest rival? Did you think the Celtics would really trade Isaiah Thomas (and the Nets’ first-rounder!) a year after the magical season he had?

Probably not at first glance, but that’s exactly what happened. Kyrie Irving is on the Boston Celtics now and Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the Nets’ prized unprotected 2018 first-rounder are now members of LeBron James’ Cavaliers.

These teams appear to be unlikely trade partners on the surface. Boston was not on Irving’s original list of preferred destinations, and the Cavaliers trading their second-best player to their top rivals in the East is not something most teams would do.

But peel back the onions a bit, and this trade makes perfect sense for both teams. It was always the most sensible Kyrie Irving trade, and it was hiding in plain sight.

Here’s why.

1. The Celtics solve their Isaiah Thomas dilemma to improve now ... and beyond

Thanks to their bounty of picks from the Nets, the Celtics were afforded the luxury to operate on two fronts. They could try to compete in the present while saving their powder for a post-LeBron East world. The one (good) problem they ran into was that Isaiah Thomas’ contract didn’t line up with their ultimate plans.

Nobody — not even the Celtics — foresaw the dominant offensive season Thomas put together last year. Even if they expected him to flourish away from tricky situations in Sacramento and Phoenix, they couldn’t have expected him to average nearly 30 points a game while invigorating the Celtics’ crowd like few other legends in their storied history.

That was very cool for them! It also presented an awkward situation with Thomas entering his free-agent year next year.

Thomas understandably wanted the Celtics to back up the Brinks trucks, considering he starred on a paltry (by NBA terms) $6.3 million salary next year. Given Thomas’ age (he’ll be 29 next summer) and the Celtics’ desires to fight on multiple fronts, a lucrative new deal for Thomas offered a degree of uncertainty.

(We’ll leave it at that, because reasonable people can disagree about whether Thomas would have aged well with Boston. Tim Cato explained why not. Tom Ziller argued the opposite).

But with this trade, Boston transferred that dilemma onto the Cavaliers and received a younger and better (arguably) player with more cost control and upside. Irving is three years Thomas’ junior while under contract for one more season, prying Boston’s present window open one more year — especially important given LeBron’s impending free agency.

The cost is heavy: Brooklyn’s unprotected first-rounder, plus an excellent rotation player in Jae Crowder. But the Celtics offset the loss of Crowder by acquiring Marcus Morris from Detroit, not to mention Gordon Hayward in free agency. The Nets’ pick is a tremendous asset, but with Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and another high lottery pick coming from either the Lakers in 2018 (if they finish between picks No. 2 and 5) or the Kings in 2019 (unprotected), the Celtics’ future track is still robust.

Ultimately, Boston brought in two All-Stars this summer, opened their short-term window for an extra season to pounce if LeBron bolts Cleveland, and kept their long-term future bright. Mission accomplished on all fronts.

2. The Cavs will actually improve next year

We can debate whether Thomas is a better player than Irving until the cows come home, but he certainly had a better season last year. Maybe Irving is the one you’d rather have taking the shot in a tie game in a Game 7, but Thomas is more than a suitable fill-in. He’ll also get along with LeBron far better than Irving did, because few could get along any worse.

Plus, the Cavaliers shored up a massive weakness in acquiring Crowder in the deal. Crowder is a burly defender that harasses all the top wing players and hits 40 percent of his threes. He can handle all the dirty work for LeBron, much like Shane Battier once did when LeBron played for the Heat. That’s a critical role that has remained unfulfilled during James’ second Cavaliers tenure, save for the rare moments when Richard Jefferson’s legs cooperated.

That’s exactly the kind of player the Cavaliers need to give themselves a shot to defend the Warriors. Now, they have it in Crowder without losing much, if anything, in swapping Thomas and Irving.

3. They’re definitely better off for the future if LeBron bounces

The Nets’ 2018 No. 1 pick is the best non-player asset in the NBA because of how hopeless that situation is. The 2018 class is loaded, especially since Marvin Bagley reclassified. That’s a nice way to reboot the franchise if James leaves for greener pastures again.

4. Kyrie Irving gets what he wants

He’s The Man on a really good team, which is exactly what he yearned for in asking to escape LeBron’s shadow. Gordon Hayward may be a better all-around player, and Al Horford is a terrific fill-in-the-gaps guy, but this is Irving’s offensive show. There weren’t any other realistic trade destinations that checked all his boxes. (The Spurs didn’t have enough to trade).

Had Irving gone elsewhere, he might have been doomed to individual glory on teams with no chance of winning a title. The Celtics, though, offer Irving the chance to go deep into the playoffs with the offense on his shoulders. They have an ace defensive backcourt partner in Marcus Smart to take the tough guard assignments. They have a complimentary perimeter scorer in Hayward, the league’s best screen-setting big man in Horford, and Brad Stevens’ wonderful motion offense to deliver open shot after open shot.

Irving couldn’t have asked for any more once his trade request went public.

5. Both fanbases weren’t happy at first

http://pic.twitter.com/whsyj8uMQi

— FearTheSword (@FearTheSword) August 22, 2017

I'll really miss you IT4 ⏱☘️ https://t.co/3fI9PiCMww

— CelticsBlog (@celticsblog) August 22, 2017

This is an oversimplification — Fear the Sword is now thrilled with the return they received, while Celtics Blog seems happy to solve the Isaiah dilemma — but it’s telling that their first reaction to the rumor was negative.

When both sides have reasons to be upset about a trade, it’s probably a good one.

[basketballandbs-blog]

Boston 111 Cleveland 108

3 things

1. So let's just get this out of the way. The Boston Celtics are not better without Isaiah Thomas full stop. Now with that said the Cs were able to escape with a win in Cleveland last night without Thomas who is reported to miss the rest of the postseason with a hip injury. Thanks to Avery Bradley's rim-dancing, game winning 3 pointer that dropped in with only .1 seconds left Boston cuts the series deficit to 2-1. Bradley finished with 20, a hard 20 on 8 of 23 from the field but it was Marcus Smart that stood up and took the reigns with their low to the ground leader out. Smart (who we just got through talking about on our latest pod which is now available and that you should check out as soon as you get done reading this) paced the Cs with 27 points, 5 boards, 7 assists going 7 of 10 from downtown. One of the streakier offensive players in the league this performance is not a surprise per se. In reality it is fully representative of the person he is once you factor in that his previous scoring output in the first two games of the series was 6 and 4. But never mind that, last night he was flames. He performed up to his standard on the defensive end also adding two steals and a block. Now one thing I will say about Thomas' absence is that it has made it much easier for Boston to defend the Cavs. By playing Bradley, Smart and Jae Crowder at or around 40 minutes there was always a plus defender on the floor to put on LeBron and Co. By not having to hide Thomas on defense and risk having him get caught up in unfavorable switches. This undoubtedly worked out well as Boston held LeBron to 11 points by far his lowest point total of these playoffs.

2. Boston got decent play form their guys across the board. Al Horford chipped in another solid performance with a 16 point and 6 assist showing and Crowder (who's play has been arguably the lone bright spot through the first two games) went for 14 and 11 with 3 steals and defended wonderfully. But we can't truthfully talk about what worked here if we don't mention the bench. For thr first time in the series Kelly “Killer Madbun” Olynyk didn't look completely lost as he tallied up 15 points. Jonas Jerebko went for 10 and 5 on a perfect 4 of 4 from the floor including a crucial long 2 late in he 4th quarter. This is a team that is truly at a crossroads now. Their season is technically in good shape in terms of moving on but everything last night felt very best case scenario for Boston. Not to say they shouldn't feel good about it because they absolutely should. But I certainly hope that for as hard fought last night was, if they are to see anymore success it will be exponentially harder.

3. It was bound to happen people. I mean everyone is susceptible to an off night even the best basketball player on the planet. LeBron James failed to get going as he sputtered to an 11 point showing on 4 of 11 shooting while committing 6 turnovers as the Cavs failed to take advantage of the IT4-less Cs to take a commanding lead in the series. Thing is though, James' ice cold game aside Cleveland didn't do terribly on offense although without a locked in James there was a certain punch missing from them that had been present with the throughout the playoffs. Kevin Love continued his quiet storm over the postseason with another stellar night rolling out 28 and 10 while continuing his hot streak from beyond the arc going 7 of 13 and in a semi-surprising turn chipping in 3 blocks. Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 29 finding his groove as efficiency had become an issue for him in the playoffs. Irving shot 10 of 15 and 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. Hell, even the TrashGawd Tristan Thompson got in on the action posting an 18 and 13 double double and impressively going 12 of 15 from the line. Nope, offense wasn't the problem. This was the first time in these playoffs that Cleveland's poor defense came back to haunt them. Cleveland has given Boston these shots all series, they just decided to start hitting them. Which why I will ask that even without Thomas if this is all that Cleveland is capable of on defensive and Boston starts hitting shots are we in for a competitive series? I as well as most have a feeling of where to lean on this but we also didn't expect a team without their best player to beat the defending world champs on the road after getting straight rolled at home for the first two games. Guess, my point is all we can do is watch. And that's cool because it is a far better watch now than it was after Friday night.

-H.B.

[junker-town]

5 reasons the Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas trade makes sense for the Cavs and Celtics

Did you think the Cavaliers would really trade Kyrie Irving to their biggest rival? Did you think the Celtics would really trade Isaiah Thomas (and the Nets’ first-rounder!) a year after the magical season he had?

Probably not at first glance, but that’s exactly what happened. Kyrie Irving is on the Boston Celtics now and Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the Nets’ prized unprotected 2018 first-rounder are now members of LeBron James’ Cavaliers.

These teams appear to be unlikely trade partners on the surface. Boston was not on Irving’s original list of preferred destinations, and the Cavaliers trading their second-best player to their top rivals in the East is not something most teams would do.

But peel back the onions a bit, and this trade makes perfect sense for both teams. It was always the most sensible Kyrie Irving trade, and it was hiding in plain sight.

Here’s why.

1. The Celtics solve their Isaiah Thomas dilemma to improve now ... and beyond

Thanks to their bounty of picks from the Nets, the Celtics were afforded the luxury to operate on two fronts. They could try to compete in the present while saving their powder for a post-LeBron East world. The one (good) problem they ran into was that Isaiah Thomas’ contract didn’t line up with their ultimate plans.

Nobody — not even the Celtics — foresaw the dominant offensive season Thomas put together last year. Even if they expected him to flourish away from tricky situations in Sacramento and Phoenix, they couldn’t have expected him to average nearly 30 points a game while invigorating the Celtics’ crowd like few other legends in their storied history.

That was very cool for them! It also presented an awkward situation with Thomas entering his free-agent year next year.

Thomas understandably wanted the Celtics to back up the Brinks trucks, considering he starred on a paltry (by NBA terms) $6.3 million salary next year. Given Thomas’ age (he’ll be 29 next summer) and the Celtics’ desires to fight on multiple fronts, a lucrative new deal for Thomas offered a degree of uncertainty.

(We’ll leave it at that, because reasonable people can disagree about whether Thomas would have aged well with Boston. Tim Cato explained why not. Tom Ziller argued the opposite).

But with this trade, Boston transferred that dilemma onto the Cavaliers and received a younger and better (arguably) player with more cost control and upside. Irving is three years Thomas’ junior while under contract for one more season, prying Boston’s present window open one more year — especially important given LeBron’s impending free agency.

The cost is heavy: Brooklyn’s unprotected first-rounder, plus an excellent rotation player in Jae Crowder. But the Celtics offset the loss of Crowder by acquiring Marcus Morris from Detroit, not to mention Gordon Hayward in free agency. The Nets’ pick is a tremendous asset, but with Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and another high lottery pick coming from either the Lakers in 2018 (if they finish between picks No. 2 and 5) or the Kings in 2019 (unprotected), the Celtics’ future track is still robust.

Ultimately, Boston brought in two All-Stars this summer, opened their short-term window for an extra season to pounce if LeBron bolts Cleveland, and kept their long-term future bright. Mission accomplished on all fronts.

2. The Cavs will actually improve next year

We can debate whether Thomas is a better player than Irving until the cows come home, but he certainly had a better season last year. Maybe Irving is the one you’d rather have taking the shot in a tie game in a Game 7, but Thomas is more than a suitable fill-in. He’ll also get along with LeBron far better than Irving did, because few could get along any worse.

Plus, the Cavaliers shored up a massive weakness in acquiring Crowder in the deal. Crowder is a burly defender that harasses all the top wing players and hits 40 percent of his threes. He can handle all the dirty work for LeBron, much like Shane Battier once did when LeBron played for the Heat. That’s a critical role that has remained unfulfilled during James’ second Cavaliers tenure, save for the rare moments when Richard Jefferson’s legs cooperated.

That’s exactly the kind of player the Cavaliers need to give themselves a shot to defend the Warriors. Now, they have it in Crowder without losing much, if anything, in swapping Thomas and Irving.

3. They’re definitely better off for the future if LeBron bounces

The Nets’ 2018 No. 1 pick is the best non-player asset in the NBA because of how hopeless that situation is. The 2018 class is loaded, especially since Marvin Bagley reclassified. That’s a nice way to reboot the franchise if James leaves for greener pastures again.

4. Kyrie Irving gets what he wants

He’s The Man on a really good team, which is exactly what he yearned for in asking to escape LeBron’s shadow. Gordon Hayward may be a better all-around player, and Al Horford is a terrific fill-in-the-gaps guy, but this is Irving’s offensive show. There weren’t any other realistic trade destinations that checked all his boxes. (The Spurs didn’t have enough to trade).

Had Irving gone elsewhere, he might have been doomed to individual glory on teams with no chance of winning a title. The Celtics, though, offer Irving the chance to go deep into the playoffs with the offense on his shoulders. They have an ace defensive backcourt partner in Marcus Smart to take the tough guard assignments. They have a complimentary perimeter scorer in Hayward, the league’s best screen-setting big man in Horford, and Brad Stevens’ wonderful motion offense to deliver open shot after open shot.

Irving couldn’t have asked for any more once his trade request went public.

5. Both fanbases weren’t happy at first

http://pic.twitter.com/whsyj8uMQi

— FearTheSword (@FearTheSword) August 22, 2017

I'll really miss you IT4 ⏱☘️ https://t.co/3fI9PiCMww

— CelticsBlog (@celticsblog) August 22, 2017

This is an oversimplification — Fear the Sword is now thrilled with the return they received, while Celtics Blog seems happy to solve the Isaiah dilemma — but it’s telling that their first reaction to the rumor was negative.

When both sides have reasons to be upset about a trade, it’s probably a good one.