The NBA trade deadline, arguably one of the most exciting times of the year for basketball fans, has again come and passed. What started off as a relatively uneventful trade season ended with several deals that completely reshaped the landscape of the league.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, who have been struggling ever since point guard Isaiah Thomas was reinserted into the starting lineup, desperately needed to reconstruct their roster. The Cavaliers have been ranked in the league’s bottom five in teams in terms of defensive efficiency for almost the entire season, something that can be attributed to an aging roster.
Thomas, an all-star and top five finisher in MVP voting last year, has struggled to find his superstar form after battling back from a hip injury.
To make matters worse, the five foot nine guard has the worst defensive rating of any player of the last 25 years, according to StatMuse.
To address these critical flaws, the Cavaliers traded six aging players and a draft pick in exchange for a young core.
They traded Thomas, Channing Frye and a first-round pick for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., an explosive scoring guard and an athletic big man that is equivalent to the poor man’s Draymond Green. Next, they traded Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose to the Utah Jazz for Rodney Hood, a six foot eight shooting guard who can also defend. Finally, they traded Iman Shumpert to the Kings for George Hill, a veteran guard whose playoff experience will benefit a team trying to win a title.
Only five players remain from last season, making Cleveland’s flurry of moves one of the most drastic midseason overhauls the league has ever seen. Invigorated with new talent, it seems Lebron James and the Cavaliers, who have staved off winter woes each of the past three years, are once again primed to make run at the Finals.
In a surprising move, the Los Angeles Clippers traded all-star forward Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons for Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and two draft picks. Griffin had just signed a five-year extension with the team, making the move to trade the face of the franchise even more shocking. The deal indicates that the Clippers are ready to start rebuilding, as the team has struggled since losing all- star guard Chris Paul to the Rockets this off season.
The New Orleans Pelicans traded Omer Asik, Tony Allen, Jameer Nelson and a draft pick in exchange for Nikola Mirotic. New Orleans has been desperately in need of a scorer after losing all-star center Demarcus Cousins to a season-ending Achilles injury.
The trade deadline has revealed a lot in terms of how the standings in both conferences will stack up once the playoffs roll around.
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