The Cleveland Cavaliers sent shock waves through the NBA sphere on Tuesday night as they sent superstar point guard Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and Brooklyn’s 2018 first-round draft pick.
While many are clamoring over the acquisition of Thomas, the player who may actually end up being the most valuable piece to Cleveland’s championship run is Crowder. The 6-foot-6 forward may already be the best defender on the Cavs alongside LeBron James and is a legitimate threat from beyond the arc, making him one of Cleveland’s few two-way players.
The forward made 2.2 threes per game last season on nearly 40 percent shooting. To further justify how well Crowder will fit into Cleveland’s system, a graphic was released by NBA Shot Charts on Twitter, showing Crowder’s accuracy when it comes to the corner 3-pointer.
Over 40% for his career from there. He's gonna fit like a glove next to LeBron pic.twitter.com/j9UdWn0xnN
— NBA Shot Charts (@NBAChartBot) August 23, 2017
On paper, it would seem that the Cavs have actually improved significantly with their haul in the deal. Thomas is essentially a shooting guard in a point guard’s body, much like Irving, however, the biggest difference is that Thomas may actually be even better off the ball than Irving.
In addition, the Cavs get a solid 3-and-D player in Crowder, a wild-card big in Zizic, and of course, the coveted 2018 first-round draft pick from the Nets, which may end up being a top-three pick if history is of any indication.
