10 most impactful moments from the 2017-18 NBA season
By Luke Askew
6. Cleveland Cavaliers’ trade deadline drama
The Cleveland Cavaliers had a trade deadline to remember.
They entered the deadline with players like Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Channing Frye, Isaiah Thomas, Iman Shumpert and Jae Crowder supporting LeBron James. By the time it was over and the madness had ended, all six of those players were no longer in Cavs uniforms (Rose and Crowder to Utah, Thomas and Frye to L.A., Shumpert to Sacramento and Wade to Miami).
Instead, the Cavs had three new young guys and a proven veteran who was getting paid way too much money. Of course, I’m talking about Larry Nance Jr., Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, and George Hill.
More from NBA
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- Constructing the NBA’s perfect all-under-25 starting five
- Grading every NBA team’s highest draft pick in the last five years
At the time of the trade, it seemed like it was good for the Cavs.
The chemistry just simply wasn’t right with the older guys. Isaiah Thomas — the guy who was supposed to fill Kyrie’s shoes — didn’t blend well at all. From there, everything within the Cavs organization imploded. So the obvious move was to blow the whole thing up and do a roster overhaul, right?
Well…
Like I said, at the time it seemed like the right move. The Cavs even played well with their new guys right off the bat, but the new roster would soon show to be no more than a clean way to push LeBron right out of Cleveland (I’m assuming).
In the playoffs, this was even more apparent than ever. Besides the occasional solid game from Kevin Love and maybe Kyle Korver (let’s just not count the Finals for Korver), LeBron was clearly carrying the heaviest load he’s had since 2007 – when he was 22 years old.
The now 33-year-old LeBron James needs more help than streaky shooters who struggle mightily on the defensive end, and the Cavs definitely didn’t find that by way of trade at the deadline.