Welcome to the latest episode of Hot Takedown, FiveThirtyEight’s sports podcast. On this week’s episode (Aug. 29, 2017), we’re bringing you a conversation from FiveThirtyEight’s basketball squad: Hot Takedown regular Neil Paine is joined by Kyle Wagner and Chris Herring to help make sense of the latest developments surrounding this month’s trade between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the groundbreaking trade, the Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and a first-round pick are slated to go to the Cavs while Kyrie Irving would head to Boston. However, amid concern about Thomas’s health, the trade has stalled. What would the trade mean, and what might happen next? We discuss.
Here are the links discussed during the show:
- After news of the trade broke, Chris Herring wrote about the deal, which is unprecedented.
- Kyle Wagner reasoned that the Celtics didn’t mortgage their future in the deal — they insured it.
- ESPN’s Chris Forsberg argued that despite concerns about Thomas’s hip, Boston should not sweeten the deal.
