It was a busy Thursday for the Los Angeles Lakers, as they made a huge deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers before the trade deadline.
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With Clarkson and Nance off the books and Thomas’ and Frye’s contracts set to expire after the season, the Lakers could have between $47 million and $70 million in cap space this summer, depending on what they do with Luol Deng and restricted free agent Julius Randle. Cleveland also acquired George Hill (via the Sacramento Kings) and sent Iman Shumpert to Sacramento, as well as that 2020 second-round pick via Miami to Sacramento. Sacramento also gets Joe Johnson from Jazz, which sends Derrick Rose and Jae Crowder to Utah.
The additions should be a wake-up call to everybody on the Cavs roster and a notice to the rest of the league: These aren’t the same old Cavaliers anymore. The Cavs were 7-8 when Thomas returned.
The trade deadline has been one of the craziest we’ve seen in ages, mostly because the Cleveland Cavaliers decided the best way to solve their recent woes was pretty much to start from scratch.
Despite last night’s impressive game-winner (Feb. 7), it seems like the player-GM, LeBron James is still exhausted of his team’s downward trend, as Cleveland Cavaliers channel the energy of Ty Bennett dismantling and rebuilding their roster in a matter of minutes.
Finally, the Cavs traded guard Dwyane Wade to the Heat for a protected 2024 second-round pick. What I do know is that the Cavs needed to restart if they hoped to get anywhere significant this season. However, he is shooting career worsts from the field (.361 shooting percentage) and 3-point range (.253).
“We addressed the culture”, Altman said as he described how he lamented how visible “the lack of energy and enthusiasm” from the team had become to everyone inside and outside of the organization.
LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers leaves the floor after a 125-114 loss to the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on January 30, 2018 in Detroit.
“Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka make it clear that Isaiah Thomas will play for the Lakers and they can envision IT playing alongside Lonzo Ball for long stretches”.
“I feel much better culturally and about the air in the building”, Altman said.
James has always been vocal that he needs more help if the team wants to repeat their 2016 championship.
For starters, this trade pretty much solidifies the Celtics as the victor in the Isaiah Thomas for Kyrie Irving trade. They are younger and they are more athletic, but you still need to make these pieces work.
The 6-foot-8 Hood will bring scoring and defensive versatility, while Hill leads the National Basketball Association in 3-point shooting (.453) and is only a year removed from resurrecting his career in Utah, though he’s averaging just 10 points a game thus far.
Cleveland defeated Boston in five games in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals.
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Limited to 15 games while recovering from the hip injury, Thomas made just 36.1 percent of his shots from the field, 25.3 percent of his three-pointers and committed 2.7 turnovers per contest over an average of 27.1 minutes of play. With this trade, the Cavs cleaned house and got younger.
