The NBA trade deadline is crazy. It's the ultimate "shit or get off the pot" scenario. Thousands of people around the world were constantly refreshing Twitter last Thursday, neglecting their jobs/teachers/children while they waited for the first plop, and boy-oh-boy it was a bomb. It fell around 1 p.m. EST and fortunately for Cleveland fans, general manager Koby Altman decided to completely blow it up.
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Given the Cavs history of making moves when LeBron openly expresses his frustration with the makeup of the team, we all knew this was coming. Their pre-deadline roster was filled with old, slow and unenthusiastic players who seemed content to sleepwalk into May with the 3rd seed in the East. Now that the perceived deadweight is gone (they shipped out six players and brought in four in their deadline deals), the Cavs are immediately back in contention in the razor-thin Eastern Conference. Here are my reactions to all of the notable deadline trades that occurred in Cleveland and elsewhere around the league.
Cleveland Cavaliers receive: Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr.
Los Angeles Lakers receive: Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, Cavs 2018 1st round pick
A lot of people were shocked by this move. Isaiah Thomas, the 2-time All-Star that Cleveland just received in the Kyrie Irving trade last August that was supposed to be the second scoring option behind LeBron, gets dealt to LA for two bench guys? Hello? What? After 15 games you're going to give up on a guy whose proven he can be a top-tier scorer in the NBA?
What it really boils down to is that Isaiah was never going to really fit in Cleveland. On the court, he looked completely lost. In Brad Stevens' high pick-and-roll system in Boston, Thomas thrived making quick decisions off the dribble. In Cleveland, he wasn't the primary ballhandler and as a result, he struggled to create his own shot and get into a rhythm. Not to mention he is still recovering from a major hip injury that's preventing him from playing the fast-paced, physical style that he's used to.
Despite his on-court struggles, I believe that off-court problems were the reason that the Isaiah-era in Cleveland ended so abruptly. Over the past month, he's publically called out the effort of his teammates, strategy of his coaches and was reportedly at the center of the heated "players only" meeting where multiple players accused Kevin Love of quitting on the team after he left the January 21st game against Oklahoma City early with an alleged sickness. This perfect storm of problems combined with his impending free agency relegated Thomas to "expiring contract trade throw-in" status for the Cavs.
For Cleveland, Larry Nance Jr. may be the biggest plus in the deal, even though that won't necessarily show up on the stat sheet every night. He's long (6'9), crazy athletic and brings a lot of energy every time he hits the floor. Most importantly, he's capable of playing the 5, which should provide a huge boost for a team that had previously struggled to fill that spot when Tristian Thompson wasn't on the floor. With Nance Jr. still playing under his rookie deal, this is a guy that should easily outperform his contract for the next year and a half before the Cavs have to make a decision about whether or not they want to sign him long-term when he becomes a restricted free agent in the summer of 2019.
Jordan Clarkson was considered a longshot to be moved at the deadline. The Lakers signed Clarkson, who is an offensively-gifted role player that consistently averaged around 15 points and 3 assists off the bench, to an insane 4 year/$50 mil extension last summer and given the cap spike that's coming over the next two seasons, the team was desperate to get his bloated contract off their books. At one point, the Lakers were offering one of their OWN 1st-round picks to any team that was willing to absorb Clarkson's sizable cap number. Luckily for the Lakers, they found a suitor for Clarkson without having to give up a valuable asset to do so.
Awful contract aside, Clarkson is a very good fit for Cleveland's system. He's a flat-out baller who can take anyone 1-on-1 and score at will when he gets into a grove offensively. Like every pure shooter that's teamed up with LeBron in the past, Clarkson is sure to see a bump in his shooting percentage as well as his minutes played.
From what I've read after their blowout 124-99 win on Sunday over Boston, a lot of people now think the Cavs' overhauled roster has set them up for another cakewalk through the East. I'm not in that camp. I need to some consistency from this Cleveland team before I put them ahead of Toronto, whose been a force to be reckoned with all season long and Boston, who despite their recent struggles and history of playing poorly against LeBron-led teams, is a resilient, defensively-stout squad that should be a tough out come playoff time.
As for the Lakers, I think Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson deserve a ton of credit for getting this deal done. If you're the Lakers, you only have one goal in mind and that's signing a big free agent (*cough cough LeBron cough cough*) this summer. With Clarkson out of the equation, the Lakers now have the cap space to sign two players to max deals. This financial flexibility makes the Lakers glamorous sales pitch (Nightlife! Warm weather! Hollywood! Iconic franchise! Get to hangout with Magic Johnson!) even more appealing to any stars that are looking to build the next superteam to try and contend with the Warriors. Even if you can only land one max-level guy this summer, you have the possibility of signing someone else in the loaded 2019 free agent class headlined by Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson and Kevin Love. That additional 1st-round pick also allows the Lakers to add another player to their promising young corps of Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball or flip it for a valuable veteran player in an offseason trade.
This trade also gives Isaiah Thomas an opportunity to redeem himself. Luke Walton should allow Thomas to make a last-ditch effort to convince someone to back up the Brinks truck for him when he hits free agency by letting him return to the ball-dominant role he's comfortable with. If Thomas can maintain the level of production he displayed during his impressive debut (22 points and 6 assists in 31 minutes) versus Dallas last Saturday night and they fail to land his arch nemesis LeBron in free agency, it's possible that the Lakers can convince him to return to the team at a discounted rate.
Overall Trade Grade:
Cavaliers: B-
Lakers: A
Cleveland Cavaliers receive: Rodney Hood, George Hill
Sacramento Kings receive: Joe Johnson, Iman Shumpert, 2020 2nd-round pick
Utah Jazz receive: Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose
If I'm a fan of any these teams, I can get behind this deal. If you're a Sacramento fan, you freed up some cap space by buying out Joe Johnson so he can go chuck up a bunch of 3's in Houston and nabbed another pick to stash to aid your seemingly endless quest to rebuild. Shumpert, a strong perimeter defender who played a significant role on the past three Cavs teams that went to the Finals, is surprisingly going to stay with the Kings instead of demanding a buyout to go sign with a contender. Cavs GM Kolby Altman repeatedly praised Shumpert's positive, team-first attitude this season while he recovered from knee/foot injuries and that sense of selflessness should have a huge impact on the culture of this bad young Kings team. Learning from your mistakes and how to play hard on a consistent basis may seem small from the outside looking in, but for a locker room full of millionaires in their early 20's, it can be everything.
I think Utah probably made out the worst here. They sent away a very talented scorer in Rodney Hood, who was averaging just under 17 points per game and shooting 42.6% from the field this season, and received more of a 3-and-D player (Jae Crowder) in return. Despite the offensive spark he provided when he was on the floor, Hood's constant injuries (he's missed over 20 games in all but one of his four seasons in the NBA) and the explosion of rookie Donovan Mitchell at the 2 made him an expendable asset for a Jazz team that's looking to build for the future.
Crowder is coming off a miserable stint in Cleveland, but I think that Quin Snyder can get a lot out of him. Snyder's system that relies on a 10-man rotation resembles the one Crowder thrived in during his three seasons in Boston and like Brad Stevens, he's an intelligent young coach that tends to get the most out of his players.
Although the Cavs seem to have upgraded at both guard positions for the style of basketball they want to play, it does not come without serious risk. Both Hood and George Hill have troubling injury histories, missing 78 and 39 games respectively over the past three seasons. Hill has also been playing through a nagging toe ailment that is believed to be partially responsible for his horrific defensive play this season. However, it's completely conceivable that Hill's poor defensive effort was caused by playing on a talent-deprived young team that lacks an identity and that he'll go back to being the lockdown defender he was prior to his stint in Sacramento now that he's back on a contending team.
Overall Trade Grades:
Cavaliers: A-
Jazz: B-
Kings: B
Miami Heat receive: Dwyane Wade
Cleveland Cavaliers receive: Protected future 2nd-round pick
This is a great deal for both sides. Even though Wade is LeBron's best friend, it was reported that he had some choice words for LeBron during the aforementioned "players only" meeting, which is a surefire way to get your ass traded away from Cleveland. Aside from beefing with LeBron, Wade also didn't fit in with the Cavs current plans. The Cavs needed less headaches and more W's and this move helped make that goal attainable. And I mean if we're being honest, Wade should've never left Miami in the first place. Pat Riley completely botched the contract situation when he was a free agent in 2016, which resulted in Wade inking a 2-year/$40 mil deal with Chicago and that bad blood lasted until the pair made amends at Wade's former agent's funeral last month. While it was made possible by a weird set of circumstances, this reunion was destined to happen and I'm sure both parties are glad that their incredibly successful professional relationship didn't end on such a sour note.
Overall Trade Grade:
Cavaliers: A-
Heat: A
Phoenix Suns receive: Elfrid Payton
Orlando Magic receive: 2018 2nd-round pick
This is a lower-level deal that kind of fell under-the-radar. With Payton's contract up at the end of the year, it makes a lot of sense why the Magic, who've changed front offices since Payton was drafted in 2014, would want to move on from him. Even though he can't shoot past 12 feet, Payton has a lot of tools (excellent speed, good passer, decent defender) in his arsenal. The Suns got great value for a former lottery pick that has the potential to blossom into a solid point guard in this uptempo system and they should be able to re-sign for a decent contract if they so desire.
Overall Trade Grade:
Suns: B+
Magic: C-
There were some additional smaller moves made before the deadline, but the only other one worth mentioning is that Dallas went out and got Dougie McBuckets from New York. McBuckets, otherwise known as Doug McDermott, will be on his 4th team in the last calendar year and as a hyped-up stretch-4 who has failed to live up to the hype since he was drafted 11th overall in 2014, this could be his last stop in the NBA. In the same deal, the Knicks acquired Emmanuel Mudiay from Denver, which is great value for a player that was just drafted in the top-10 in 2015. It'll be interesting to see how Jeff Hornacek goes about splitting the minutes between Mudiay, veteran journeyman Jarrret Jack and 2017 1st-round pick Frank Ntilkina (aka Franky Nicotine) for the rest of the year.
Of course, there was also some losers that stayed quiet at the deadline. Boston, Toronto and Washington all sat out while the Cavs went out and pulled off their annual roster overhaul to help solidify their title chances. All of these teams might regret not making a move to get an extra piece (DeAndre Jordan, Tyreke Evans, Avery Bradley, any of the Hawks veterans that were reportedly available) that could've helped them get through the brick wall that is LeBron in the playoffs. It must be difficult to stick to your guns while the Cavs fortified their roster for another title push, but these teams clearly didn't want to mortgage their future for potential short-term success. It'll be interesting to see how the teams that stood pat fare in the playoffs and if the Cavs added enough horses to their roster to overtake the Warriors (or any dark horse team that upsets them) in the Finals.
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