Jae Crowder informed his mother that he had been traded by the Boston Celtics to the Cleveland Cavaliers shortly before she passed away from cancer at the age of 51.

"There was a lot going on that day, obviously," Crowder told reporters in Cleveland during his introductory press conference. "The good thing about the whole ordeal was I was able to whisper it to my mom before she passed. I was with her. I just told her, 'We're going to Cleveland.' Five minutes later, she passed. That day was tough, but it was a good day for myself, for my basketball career, to move on to an organization like this, like the Cleveland Cavaliers, to put myself in a position to play for it all. I couldn't ask myself for nothing else. I was thankful for Boston, for everything they've done for me, and for trading me to a team like this. I was thankful for the opportunity. But that day was pretty wild."

Crowder is looking forward to his new opportunity with the Cavaliers.

"I was a little concerned," he said. "We had a lot of wing players stacked up. It was a little concerning. I made it clear to the organization that I was concerned about it and just wanted more direction. I think they gave it to me with the trade. They showed me what they wanted to do. I respected it."