The Cleveland Cavaliers have managed to pull off the trade of the summer, in a coup which is set to lay the foundation for years to come.
Most expect LeBron James to leave the Cavaliers next offseason which will undoubtedly devastate the franchise. Cleveland were set to enter this era without several of their own draft picks; including their 2019 first round pick.
Much of their roster are also set to come off the books in 2018, leaving only Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, JR Smith and Richard Jefferson on guaranteed deals.
Cleveland would be starting a rebuild with expensive veterans and without access to their own draft picks, essentially a lesser form of the mess the Brooklyn Nets have found themselves in.
This was the future Koby Altman and the Cavaliers were staring at until last week’s blockbuster trade, which has both improved their short term chances of success, wile laying a significant foundation for the future.
In the trade, the Cavaliers acquired All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, the unprotected 2018 first round Brooklyn Nets pick and Miami’s 2020 second round pick. Thomas is undoubtedly the centrepiece of this trade, coming off his best career in the association.
Thomas averaged 28.9 points per game, which was the third highest in the league last season. Thomas was voted into the second All-NBA team at the conclusion of last season and is in the prime of his career.
Although Thomas’ future has been shrouded in doubt recently, due to his hip concerns, he is an undoubted star of this league. If LeBron does leave as expected next offseason, Cleveland has a piece to build around if they wish to.
While Thomas has consistently told reporters that he is expecting to receive max money from someone next offseason. Thomas is worth the money if he can get back to full health and show the form he displayed this past season.
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
The Cavs will also be able to offer Thomas more money than any other suitor as, thanks to the trade, they own his Bird rights. This means they will be able to go over the salary cap to resign him and also offer him a five-year deal, as opposed to the four-year deal other teams can offer him.
While if Dan Gilbert does not wish to max out Thomas, he can let him walk and begin a full scale rebuild. Gilbert has several assets he may choose to trade in Kevin Love and the newly acquired Jae Crowder. Crowder is widely sort after in the league, due to his “cap friendly” deal, currently owed less than $22 million over the next three years.
Crowder presents the ideal piece to add to a contender’s list as he offers something on both ends of the floor and doesn’t break the bank to acquire him. This is likely Gilbert’s most valuable asset in terms of trade value.
Love is also an interesting trade piece, initially brought to Cleveland via a trade that sent the Cavaliers number one overall picks from the 2013 (Anthony Bennett) and 2014 (Andrew Wiggins) drafts to Minnesota. Love has performed admirable while in Cleveland, helping LeBron earn a ring in 2016, while his most season finishing with 19 points, 11.1 rebounds and earning an All Star birth.
Love has two years left on his deal following the completion of this year, however one of those is a player option, meaning Love will have the final say on what he does heading into the 2019-20 season.
If Gilbert chooses to trade Love, he can probably expect a combination of role players and late first round selections. Admittedly, not a great return for the high price they paid for him, but he has performed the job asked of him when he arrived, helping Cleveland to their maiden title.
At this stage, Cleveland have close to $30 million in cap room next offseason, with this number obviously rising if they choose to trade Crowder and Love. They would also be on possession of the 2018 Nets pick (which is expected to be in the top five) and possibly snag Michael Porter or Luka Doncic, two of the highest rated youngsters in the basketball world.
With this, along with whatever picks and talented youngsters they are able to trade for Love and Crowder, Cleveland can truly begin to move on from their LeBron era. It will certainly be difficult for most Cleveland fans but at least they are currently in the best possible place to begin this rebuild.
Swampy
Guest
Some punctuation and shorter sentences may help with your slaying of the writer's grammar. You get a 4 out of 10 for construction mushi. However content is excellent. Agree wholeheartedly with your view. The deal is a sum of the parts for Cleveland rather than the pieces. For the Celtics it was addition and subtraction - some pieces had to go to keep building the team towards a championship contender. I doubt it's the final move for Ainge. The squad this season will be better than last year's and yet there are still multiple assets available to play with for future deals. As a result of the trade both the Cavs and the Celtics have pieces they can move in the future. Anthony Davis is an interesting piece - I'm sure every team will sweat on his happiness meter during this season.
Ben Sewell
Roar Pro
No, I just genuinely believe what I wrote and I'm standing by it. You disagree with what I've written and that's fair. I didn't need the English lesson however....
Mushi
Guest
Just pointing out your flawed logic mate. Also the "undoubtedly" is the issue CB had. Many have disagreed as to the core asset in this trade so there are doubts. That disagreement is a fact. So either you're going for hyperbole (in which why defend the statement) or you don't know what the word means. The flexibility on options is much greater with the draft pick where the value is relatively even across the league (so a more liquid asset). Also IT is not "literally" make or break, it is entirely posible that the cavs won't win with IT (he can't defend and is basically an even exchange for Irving... Who they lost with) and also entirely possible that if he can't play that a lebron led team still gets to the finals (with 28-30 minutes per game from crowder) or they use that pick to go get another max level player. So it is entirely within the realms of possibility that IT doesn't change the season outcome. Which literally means you've misused the word literally, just like undoubtedly, its like reading an under paid Stephen A Smith
jimmy
Guest
Ben Sewell
Roar Pro
Do you think Lebron cares about picks? No, he's out of there July 1 next year unless Cleveland can convince him otherwise. IT gives the Cavs options, if he can replicate his form from this season and the Cavs can win a title, Lebron might stay long term. If IT can't and Lebron leaves, he's an expiring contract and they can start the rebuild. Yes the nets pick is important, but it doesn't give Cleveland the allround options that IT does. IT is literally make or break for the Cavs next season and if he can save Lebron from leaving, than he's undoubtedly the most important piece Cleveland could have received for Irving.
mushi
Guest
Do you think it gets done without the pick? Heck by that logic of what consitutes the centre peice the second rounder must be the centre peice as it ended the posturing...
Ben Sewell
Roar Pro
You honestly think this deal gets through without IT? The guy balled out last year, 29 pts, All NBA 2nd team, basically carried Celtics to Eastern Conference Finals. IT gives Cavs a chance to win next year when he's fully fit. Yes the Nets pick is also very valuable but IT gives Lebron what he wants and thats immediate success.
CB
Guest
"Thomas is undoubtedly the centrepiece of this trade, coming off his best career in the association." Literally everyone (including members of the Cavs organization) has openly stated that the Brooklyn pick was the centerpiece and Thomas was icing on the cake.