The NBA trade deadline was this past Thursday, Feb. 8. There have been many
trades that have gone through so far, with the biggest being the Blake Griffin trade that went down last week that sent him to the Detroit Pistons. Then came this past Thursday, the day of the deadline. There were so many trades made on this day made before the 3 p.m. mark, the biggest being the trades involving the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The first big trade that went down was the trade that sent Isaiah Thomas out West to the
Los Angeles Lakers, his third team in six months. The Lakers got Thomas, Channing Frye and the Cavs’ 2018 first round pick. The Cavaliers received Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. who were role players for the Lakers. The Lakers won this individual trade; they not only freed up major cap space along with a first round pick, but also they now have two skilled star guards in Lonzo Ball and Thomas. Ball needed another guard alongside him and they definitely got this in Thomas. In Cleveland, Thomas wasn’t in a good role under LeBron James’ shadow but now he can return to star form like he was in Boston on this young Lakers team.
The next trade the Cavaliers made was sending Dwyane Wade back to Miami. This
trade was definitely a happy one because I have begun to notice that Wade doesn’t belong in
Cleveland. He didn’t belong in Chicago either, but instead he’s meant to be back in Miami where he spent all of his career besides the past few seasons. Wade had a diminished role in
Cleveland and he’ll definitely be put to better use to finish off his career with the Heat. Wade
also mentioned he wanted to end his career in Miami and now he gets to do exactly this. Good move for both the Cavs and Heat.
This next trade was a big one. This trade was between the Cavs, Sacramento Kings and the Utah Jazz. The Cavs received Rodney Hood and George Hill, the Kings received Joe Johnson and Iman Shumpert, and the Jazz received Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose. The Cavs shipped off three key players in exchange for Rodney Hood and George Hill. The winner of this trade here is the Cavs; all of the players in this trade that they shipped off didn’t really contribute much to the Cavs this season. Hood and Hill can definitely make some noise for the Cavaliers and help LeBron out a little better and from their style of play, they look like they can fit into the Cavs’ system well. Crowder and Rose can definitely produce for the Jazz; unfortunately for Rose, he was waived off and is currently seeking a team to sign him.
It’s harder to produce in a Cavaliers system because you have a certain role playing under LeBron – a different role than you would have on any other team in the NBA.
All in all, the Cavs traded half of their roster away for some quality options for LeBron
James to work with. The winners of the trade period were definitely the Lakers and Cavs. The
Cavs are trying to reform their whole roster due to the fact that they realized they couldn’t make an NBA Finals run with the current team that they had. If I had to pick one team that won outright, I would say the Lakers because now in the offseason, they are financially able to pursue Paul George and/or LeBron James. This could be the start of a real post-Kobe dynasty for the Lakers.
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