In 2017, the Celtics won Irving for 4 and 1. How did these players develop later? Irving has been in multiple teams

When it comes to the NBA's active offensive kaleidoscope, this person is obviously Irving. His playing style is the first in history. Moreover, Irving is not only gorgeous in his playing style, but his strength is beyond words. When the Cavaliers were able to win the championship, he was inseparable from his performance. In the finals that year, Irving averaged 27+ per game. During this period, he also had various big-hearted scoring performances. Especially the G5 scoring 41 points became the most classic game in his career. In addition, in the 2016 finals, I have to mention Irving's three-pointer in the tiebreak, which also demonstrates his killer nature.

However, since the Warriors directly recruited Durant after losing, the league completely ushered in a finale. Before the 2016-2017 season started, everyone basically agreed that they would become the champion of the new season. The facts later were indeed as expected. In 2017, the Warriors successfully won the cup with a dominant performance. In the finals, they faced the Cavaliers led by James and Irving again. This time they directly swept the opponent with a 4-1 score.

Although the Cavaliers failed to defend their title, their core players were still at the peak at that time, so as long as they could maintain their original lineup, they would not have a chance to return to the finals stage. However, at this time, Irving seemed to have heard the rumors that the management wanted to trade him, so he decided to take action first and directly filed a deal application. He wanted to leave the team in the offseason and even said that if the Cavaliers did not trade him as soon as possible, he would have surgery and would miss the entire 2017-2018 season. Under this circumstance, Irving's trading value was severely reduced.

After Irving took the initiative to fall out with the Cavaliers, no team on the market was willing to bleed heavily for him, because everyone knew that the Cavaliers were forced to send him away at a loss, otherwise they would have to watch Irving, who had the maximum salary, lying at home to recuperate. Finally, after the Cavaliers' negotiations, they decided to send Irving to the Celtics and use it to exchange for Thomas Jr. and other chips. So let's take a look at how these players have developed after experiencing the transaction!

1. Irving

First of all, Irving is still looking at Irving. After joining the Celtics, his performance was still as good as ever. In the 2017-2018 season, he averaged 24.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Under his leadership, the Celtics' record has always been at the forefront of the Eastern Conference. However, it is a pity that Irving was reimbursed for the season due to injury before the regular season ended. Considering that without him and another new player Hayward, the Celtics finally made it possible to enter the Eastern Conference Finals, so this inevitably made many fans want Irving and Hayward not injured. Do they have a chance to win the championship this year?

After Irving returned, although his personal performance was still very good, due to basketball philosophy and personality, he had conflicts with the young people in the team and the management, so they only stopped in the second round in the 2019 playoffs. Irving became a free agent in the offseason in 2019, and then he joined the Nets with Durant. After the latter took one season to recover from injury, the Nets officially launched an attack on the championship in the 2020-2021 season, and they also traded Harden for this.

The Nets were originally one of the most promising teams in the East in the 2021 playoffs, but Harden suffered a hamstring strain and Irving's severe ankle sprain caused the team to lose its combat effectiveness, and he ended up having no choice but to fall in the second round. Later, in the 2021-2022 season, Irving's attendance declined severely due to no vaccination. In addition, Durant also stopped fighting due to injury. In the end, Harden quit. He applied for a deal in 2022 and joined 76ers. At this point, the three giants have also been disbanded.

Later, the duo of Irving and Durant failed to help the Nets "resurrect". In addition, Irving failed to negotiate with the team about renewing the contract, so he applied for a deal in 2023 and was sent to the Mavericks by the team. But now it seems that Irving joined the team that suited him after leaving the Cavaliers. Here Irving also began to play more attentively. With his help, the team reached the finals again after 13 years.

But unfortunately, it was just about to improve. This year, the Mavericks sent Doncic away. Irving, who had been fighting at high load, was also reimbursed due to a sudden injury season, and the team was unable to make the playoffs in the end. But Irving decided to stay in the team during the offseason, so he signed a three-year, 119 million contract with the Mavericks. Considering his condition before his injury, the price is quite cost-effective. It can be seen that at this stage of his career, Irving has indeed found a sense of belonging in the Mavericks. If nothing unexpected happens, he may really retire here.

2. Thomas Jr.

Before being traded by the Celtics, Thomas Jr. had just played his highest career season. That year, he averaged 28.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game in the regular season, and he was also selected for the All-Star and All-Squad. Thomas Jr. has been playing in the playoffs with his sister passing away and he has injuries. He also averaged 23.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game and led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals.

However, the real Celtics management has seen through the outcome of Thomas Jr.'s injury-related battle. His explosive power has declined, and his competitive state will undoubtedly decline. So the team clearly felt unwilling to renew his contract with Thomas Jr. After learning that he had the chance to get Irving, the Celtics also decisively sent Thomas Jr.. After leaving the Celtics, Thomas Jr. Sure enough, he experienced a cliff-like decline. This was due to past injuries, and the fact that he could not return to the peak after leaving the Celtics' system built around him. Later, Thomas Jr. began his wandering journey in the NBA. He joined the Cavaliers, Lakers, Nuggets and other teams, but he still failed to avoid being eliminated by the NBA.

3.Claude

In this trade, Claude is not an ordinary top scorer. He was able to average 13.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1 steal and 2.2 three-pointers in the 2016-2017 season, so he was considered a pretty good 3D at that time. However, after joining the Cavaliers, Claude also had a situation of disagreement. The most important thing is that he and Thomas Jr. became a locker room bomb. At that time, they had an irreconcilable conflict with some old Cavaliers led by JR Smith, so the team eventually had to pack and send Claude and Thomas Jr. away before the trade deadline.

However, compared to Thomas Jr., Claude was much lucky. Later, many of the teams he joined were strong teams at the playoff level. During this period, he also reached the finals with the Heat and the Suns. However, since he was 30 years old, Claude's condition has also declined to the naked eye. He only played 9 games for the Kings last season. At present, at the age of 35, he is basically unlikely to return to the NBA.

4.Riji

Although Rijiji was the first round No. 23 pick in 2016, he obviously added to the trade. After joining the Cavaliers, Ririqi failed to realize his talent. In the end, he only played in the NBA for 3 seasons before leaving the league. During this period, he could only contribute 6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.