Maxwell: Isaiah Thomas 'Devastated' By Trade To Cleveland
BOSTON (CBS) -- Everybody understands that the world of professional sports is a business, but that doesn't mean human emotions don't get involved.
Isaiah Thomas is not immune.
Celtics radio analyst Cedric Maxwell joined Steve Burton on Sports Final on Sunday night and shared what he heard about Thomas' reaction to the trade last week.
"Isaiah, I heard, was devastated," Maxwell said.
Despite the issue taking place regarding Cleveland wanting more from Boston after examining Thomas' hip, Maxwell -- who deal with a similar situation himself after he had been traded during his playing days -- said he believes the two sides will get the deal done.
"Too many people have egg on their face. How do you take Isaiah back in this situation? 'Oops'? 'I'm sorry'? 'My bad'? So I think still, something has to happen, and the Celtics want to make that deal and obviously Cleveland wants to make that deal," Maxwell said. "I still believe that the Celtics want to make the deal, and I believe that the Cavaliers have to make the deal. And this is the best deal out there for the Cavaliers right now at this time. They have shopped Kyrie around to different places. And you don't want to trade the guy to the East to a rival team, so how desperate are you and how good was the deal to you if in fact you decided to send him to Boston where he'll be competing with you?"
Maxwell understood why the Celtics made the trade, but he too said he feels that human emotion that is inescapable when it comes to Thomas.
"The thing that I hate about this is the fact that the love affair that Isaiah had for this team and the city. You talk about having the position of loyalty, and his sister dies, and he plays," Maxwell said. "Loyalty and business, they don't work together. So in this case, the Celtics saw the opportunity to try to upgrade their team. The Cavaliers had an opportunity to do something different and move some players. So that's why this deal happened."
Watch the full discussion from Sports Final in the video above!