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The Celtics, on the other hand … well, they could be in a mess, at least this season, if the deal doesn’t go down.

Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder, the two veterans they offered to Cleveland, “are both strong, emotional voices who could bristle about being shopped,” The Washington Post’s Tim Bontemps wrote Tuesday. Imagine being Thomas, in particular. He is a vastly undersized (5-foot-9), chronically underestimated (last pick in his draft class, No. 60, who has been traded twice already) point guard who scrapped his way to star status in a league of much taller players. He’s truly a self-made man, and there’s naturally a level of pride that goes along with that.

This trade has already forced him to defend that pride. This is a guy who earlier this summer told ESPN the Magazine, if he were 6-3 or 6-5, the world would recognize him as its best basketball player. Just months later, in light of concerns about his hip, he told Adrian Wojnarowski, “I am not damaged.”

Now imagine returning to a team on which you blossomed into an all-star, a team that then traded you for a better, taller, younger all-star who plays the same position, only to see that deal fall apart. Even the most professional person would find that slight hard to let go. The last time a major deal fell through — the 2011 trade of Chris Paul to the Lakers, which the NBA vetoed — Lamar Odom reportedly forced his way out of Los Angeles after the fact due to anger over being shopped. The “it’s a business” mentality can only go so far.

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This isn’t saying that Boston should simply acquiesce to the Cavs’ apparent hopes for additional sweeteners — just that chemistry disruption is a very real concern if this trade falls through.

So what does Boston do in that case? Bring Thomas and Crowder back into the fold and hope to smooth things over? Turn around and trade one or both of them for something less than a star? Just as Cleveland probably won’t find a package like what Boston is offering, Boston can’t find another player of Irving’s stature on the current market. And if Thomas’s hip is enough of a concern for Cleveland to possibly scrap the deal, what would his trade value even be after this? The lone bright spot of an axed Irving deal would be the return of the Brooklyn pick, which Boston could either potentially flip in another deal (fans have been scheming for Anthony Davis) or use itself on a young talent in the draft.

Thomas and Crowder are pros, though. Maybe they’d turn all of this into fuel and the Celtics would benefit — it is a contract year for Thomas, after all. That’s the best-case scenario, and even that has its complications — namely, that Boston would face a difficult decision on whether to commit to Thomas on a long-term contract next summer.

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From the looks of it, the Irving-Thomas deal didn’t reshuffle the order at the top of the Eastern Conference. The Cavs were still viewed as No. 1, with the Celtics perhaps a step closer than they were previously. Cleveland would likely still be the team to beat if it takes another Irving deal. But if Boston doesn’t land Irving and suddenly has locker room issues, would the Celtics remain the East’s clear-cut No. 2?

The Irving trade made it clear that Boston is finally in full on go-for-it mode this year, cashing in some of their best assets to build a win-now team around Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. If a team with big aspirations suddenly has locker room drama, how can that not spill over onto the court? That has to be the concern in Boston.

But the deal is not dead yet. As Bontemps noted, there’s plenty of motivation on both sides to get a deal done. For the Cavs, that’s likely because they know they probably aren’t getting a package for Irving as sweet as what Boston is offering. For the Celtics, though, there’s a lot more to worry about if the deal is called off.