In some of the craziest NBA trade deadline fireworks in years, ESPN is reporting the Cleveland Cavaliers have completed a number of trades that have reshaped almost half of their roster.
The Isaiah Thomas experiment was not going well for the Cavs, who had gone 7-10 since his return. There were also team chemistry issues involving Thomas that played out publicly, essentially forcing the team’s hand to make a deal. Shockingly, Cleveland did not deal Kevin Love, who has been the source of many trade rumors over the past couple of years.
Here are all of the deals that ESPN is reporting involving the Cavaliers:
Cavaliers trade G Isaiah Thomas, F/C Channing Frye, and a protected first-round pick to the Lakers.
Lakers trade G Jordan Clarkson and F Larry Nance to Cavs
Cavaliers trade G Dwyane Wade to the Heat
Heat trade protected second-round pick to Cavs
Cavaliers trade G Iman Shumpert and second-round pick to Kings
Cavaliers trade F Jae Crowder and G Derrick Rose to Jazz
Jazz trade G Rodney Hood to Cavs
Jazz trade G Joe Johnson to Kings
Kings trade G George Hill to Cavs
So, to summarize, here’s what the Cavs got:
G George Hill
G Jordan Clarkson
G Rodney Hood
F Larry Nance
Second-round pick
Here’s what they traded:
G Isaiah Thomas
G Dwyane Wade
G Derrick Rose
G Iman Shumpert
F Jae Crowder
F/C Channing Frye
First round pick
Wow. I don’t know if this is a popular opinion, but to me it looks like the Cavs got better from this. George Hill will solidify the defense if he can stay healthy and should still have a couple good years left. Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. are both talented young players who had a difficult time getting minutes with all of the mouths to feed on the Lakers, so hopefully this trade will help them show the league what they can do. The Cavs now have some pop off the bench with Clarkson being a score-first guard. Rodney Hood is another nice piece that can provide shooting support if he doesn’t get hurt.
By acquiring the contracts of Thomas and Frye, which expire at the end of this season, the Lakers could end up with almost $70 million in cap room to sign free agents over the summer of 2018. Not getting into the complicated details, this would also require some restructuring of current contracts and opting not to re-sign a few players, but it’s a possibility. Speculation is that they will go after LeBron James and Paul George, but other potential free agents include Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, and DeMarcus Cousins.
The implications of these trades for the Kings and Jazz are minimal. Trading Hill will allow the Kings to take a closer look at De’Aaron Fox and Frank Mason. As for the Jazz, Jae Crowder should slot into the starting five. Rodney Hood seemed to be the odd man out with Donovan Mitchell showing so much promise early in his career, so this deal makes sense. The Jazz are expected to cut Derrick Rose.
These trades could be league-altering for years to come if the Lakers are able to shed some more salary before free agency begins in the summer. Creating the cap space to sign two maximum salary free agents could launch them from a non-playoff team to a Western Conference powerhouse by next season.
