Like clockwork, after Isaiah Thomas was traded by the Celtics to the Cavaliers, a national reporter tried to drag the player through the mud using anonymous sources. FS1's Chris Broussard cited anonymous league GMs who cited anonymous Celtics who said Isaiah wasn't beloved in the locker room.

Immediately and overwhelmingly, various Celtics teammates of Isaiah fought back. Also, common sense fought back. We had not once seen signs of strife within these Celtics, despite a Boston sports media built to identify and thrive on drama.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are sending their starting point guard to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the Brooklyn Nets' unprotected 2018 first-round pick.

Cleveland was known to be looking for a package that included a young star, veterans, and picks in return for the four-time All-Star, and was eyeing No. 3 pick Jayson Tatum. However, Boston wasn't willing to give him up, and instead yielded the rights to Brooklyn's first-rounder next year.

The Cavaliers brought in a great haul for Irving in a market where returns for stars were diminishing.

The Cavaliers had little leverage in the Kyrie Irving trade after he made it clear he wanted out in early July. But despite everyone knowing Irving was going to be moved, the Cavaliers still managed to haul in a big return. By trading Irving for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Brooklyn’s unprotected 2018 first-round pick, and Ante Zizic, the Cavaliers are still ready to win now, but have also improved their team for the future.

Wade’s best shot at landing in Cleveland is negotiating a buyout, which will likely cost him some of his $23.8 million salary.

There’s a good chance that Dwyane Wade will join the Cleveland Cavaliers and reunite with LeBron James in pursuit of another NBA championship at some point this season, Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon said on a podcast with colleague Chris Fedor.

The Kyrie Irving trade may have been focused on Isaiah Thomas and the Nets’ pick, but Crowder will give LeBron a hand on both ends of the floor.

The Cavaliers swapped All-Star point guards with the Celtics in a blockbuster trade that shocked the basketball world. But of all the other pieces in the Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas trade, don’t forget about Jae Crowder.

This is peak Kawhi. The league should be scared.

Kawhi Leonard doesn’t smile; it’s not in his DNA. Not after the Spurs traded for him on draft night, not after he became the third-youngest Finals MVP ever, not after winning 2016 Defensive Player of the Year, and not after he emerged as the best two-way player in the NBA.

Boston pulled off the biggest trade of the offseason, but it didn’t happen overnight. Instead, it’s a product of Ainge’s years of wheeling and dealing.

The Boston Celtics pulled off the blockbuster trade of the year Tuesday night, trading Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the prized, unprotected 2018 Brooklyn Nets’ first-round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving.

NBA tampering rules are pointless, and there’s no need for the league to pursue this further.

The NBA confirmed reports over the weekend that the L.A. Lakers are under investigation for tampering with Paul George. The alleged infractions happened before George had been traded by the Indiana Pacers.