WOW! That was a lot to take in!
What the hell just happened?
The Cleveland Cavaliers have undergone a fire sale and have traded away Dwayne Wade, Derrick Rose, Iman Shumpert, Jae Crowder, Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye and have acquired Jordan Clarkson, George Hill, Larry Nance Jr. and Rodney Hood. While this unprecedented flurry of trades may seem to mean many things, it definitely means one thing: the Cavs are going to get much better, but not before things appear to get worse.
The 2018 Cavaliers were anemic and many of the issues that were hidden by high percentage shooting were revealed this January and February. Something had to change, but what? After the Cavaliers struggled to play as a team, defend the rim and generally just get along with each other, it was time to pull the ripcord. By trading Isaiah Thomas they break up the bad culture in their locker room. By trading away Shumpert and Wade they get younger on the perimeter and further break up any cliques that were formed during the season. By trading away Jae Crowder, Rose and Frye they no longer have to play players who became specters on one end of the floor. But these beneficial moves will come at a cost.
Adjusting to this adjustment
Remember when everyone was talking about how the Cavs needed time to adjust to the new roster and the presence of Thomas? Well, the Cavaliers are going to need to gel quickly as 30% of the roster is new and finding out how the new and old mesh will prove whether or not coach Lue can do exactly that, coach. I suspect that the Cavaliers losing woes are not going to go away but unlike before, this losing will be the price of making the Cavaliers contenders.
The Cavaliers may drift as far south as 5th or 6th in the playoff race before they figure things out. It may get ugly. It may look as though nothing has changed and this team is destined to get bounced in the playoffs and lose its franchise and league legend to free agency. Or, It may end up propelling a refreshed roster back into the finals with a team that plays on both ends of the floor and features starters and a supporting cast that buy in to playing together instead of getting embarrassed. We could see this change have an immediate positive impact as players like Cedi Osman and Jeff Green get more playing time.
If there is one thing LeBron is good at, it is getting the best out of his teammates when they want to play with them. LeBron and veterans like Korver and Love will need to create the nucleus around which to build this new team in order to cut down on this period of acute pain and losing as they adjust. So since the Cavaliers have purged some of the issues from their team, what did they get in the process?
Let’s open up the grab bag and see what we got
While the Cavaliers will have to absorb some of the cap hit from the Lakers, the contracts that they are undertaking are shorter and fewer than what they let go of and thus will have more options moving forward with or without LeBron. It is an interesting scenario in which the Lakers dumped contracts in order to make way for a possible LeBron/Paul George signing this offseason while the Cavaliers made moves to try to give LeBron and Cleveland another shot at a ring without mortgaging their future.
The Players that the Cavaliers acquired are instant cures for some of their worst issues on the court. Larry Nance Jr. and Rodney Hood (both 6 feet 8 inches tall) add versatile two-way players who can help on the defensive perimeter and will provide a spark on offense. Adding George hill gives the Cavs another defender who can take opponents’ best scorer and lock them away on a remote island for 48 minutes. An added bonus is that none of these players were around for that awkward team showdown between Kevin Love and Isaiah Thomas about Love’s sickness.
A note that must not escape Cavaliers fans is that the roster got about 20 years younger and the Cavaliers will be able to decide who to keep and who to let go in the next couple of years instead of being tied down with longer contracts. We may never get rid of Tristan Thompson but if LeBron leaves the players acquired today are good pieces either to build around or package for other players. Speaking of preparing for the future, the Cavaliers still hold onto the Brooklyn Nets 1st round draft pick which could end up being a lottery pick if things bounce for them and against the Nets. Knowing the Cavaliers draft history, if that pick ends up being a lottery pick, the Cavs draft history might suggest they will get to select first.
What to expect?
Whether or not the Cavaliers improve drastically and can compete for a title, they will have to figure out how to play together and probably lose a significant amount of games in the process. Whether or not LeBron leaves this offseason for a sunnier team (a Paul George and LeBron James led Lakers look like the best fit after this trade), the Cavaliers still can be competitive after a short decline (if James does leave) for a few seasons before Koby Altman can rebound. Altman has managed to keep this ship afloat despite lots of egos and this trade could be his statement to the NBA that he knows his way around a roster.
If nothing else, this trade merely gave Cleveland sports and NBA fans a reason to tune in to the Cavaliers other than seeing if they can break their losing streak. One thing is for certain, sacrificing the short-term (losing games this year and if LeBron leaves, tanking for a couple of seasons) in hopes of long-term success is a plan I can get along with.
Let’s just hope the Cavs get their adjustment period over with and win the title. Then we can deal with whatever the hell happens this offseason.