Jae Crowder says Celtics were wrong to trade him

In 2017, the Celtics acquired Kyrie Irving in a trade that included Jae Crowder. Over a year later, Crowder still believes the Celtics made a mistake.

While most people would probably agree that the Boston Celtics did the right thing by moving on from Jae Crowder in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Crowder himself won’t be found in that camp.

That obviously isn’t a surprise.

Though Crowder had a good run in Boston, the Celtics were adding pieces to build a team that could reach the NBA Finals. Crowder was one of the pieces that had to go in order for the bigger pieces to come in.

But understandably, it’s difficult for players to see it that way. After Crowder’s current team, the Utah Jazz, handed the Celtics a defeat in Salt Lake City on Friday night — a game in which Crowder scored 20 points — he still isn’t afraid to admit that he believes the Celtics were in the wrong.

Good for Crowder for having a load of confidence in himself. But obviously, the Celtics didn’t actually make a mistake. Crowder was part of the deal with Cleveland that netted Kyrie Irving for the Celtics.

Despite the fact that Boston hasn’t exactly been playing like a title contender over its last few games, Irving is one of the elite point guards in the NBA, and he’s been one of the few bright spots for the Celtics in this recent stretch. His 39-point performance in Phoenix on Thursday night helped push the Celtics toward a miraculous comeback victory in overtime.

Even though Crowder was a pretty good player in Boston, and definitely was somewhat of a fan favorite, the Celtics would make that exact same deal again 100 times out of 100.

An old saying is “you have to spend money to make money.” Crowder was one of the players that had to be spent in order for the Celtics to further their progress toward winning a championship, whether he believes it or not.