NBA Notebook: Grading the Cavs trade deadline moves: How much better did they get?

The Cavaliers saved the NBA from a relatively quiet trade deadline day Thursday by blowing up an underwhelming roster after a disappointing first 50-plus games of the season. The number of in-season moves by a potential title contender was nearly unprecedented, as general manager Koby Altman shipped away six different players (Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, Jae Crowder, Iman Shumpert, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade) in three separate deals along with cash and a pair of picks. How much better did the Cavs actually make themselves with these maneuvers, and what are the short-term and long-term ramifications for the franchise? Let’s dissect each one to see if there is a method to Altman’s madness while evaluating how they impact a potential Celtics-Cavs clash.



Trade No. 1
Cavs trade Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and their own 2018 first round pick to Lakers for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr.

Overview: The Cavs cleared out a pair of expiring contracts (sadly, that’s the value of Thomas at this point as he works himself back into form) for a couple of better rotation players in Nance Jr. and Clarkson. Clarkson is a score-first guard who lacks a reliable 3-point shot (32 percent). But he can score in bunches and has given the Celtics problems all year long in head-to-head matchups (20 ppg this year vs. BOS). The 25-year-old is a better defender than Thomas by default due to his 6-foot-5 frame, and is capable of carrying the offense in stretches when LeBron James rests.

Nance Jr. is another appealing piece that the Celtics were on the verge of drafting in 2015, according to league sources. The Lakers scooped him up one pick before Boston though, and he has been an energy player for them ever since. He has no range outside of 15 feet, but he crashes the offensive glass hard and plays with a lot of fight defensively. His athleticism could also be a huge weapon with LeBron (he’s in the slam dunk contest) on lob finishes in the pick-and-roll.

Grades
Lakers: A
Cavs: C
The Lakers got out of Clarkson’s overpriced contract $26 million over the next two years, which helped them clear out salary cap room for free agent pursuits this summer. Nance Jr. is on his cheap rookie deal for another year, but managing to snag a first-round pick for him while only taking on expiring contracts is a major win. That overpay will be worth it to the Cavs if Clarkson and Nance Jr. help them retain James once his contract expires in July. Otherwise, Cleveland may have made life easier for the Lakers to pursue James and another star this summer with this deal with newly created max salary cap space.

Trade No. 2
Cavs get Rodney Hood, George Hill
Jazz get Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose
Kings get Joe Johnson, Iman Shumpert, Cavs’ 2020 second round pick, cash

Overview: It’s hard not to be a big fan of this deal from the Cavs perspective, even though they sold about as low as they could on Crowder. However, I can’t fault Altman for that, as he has a win-now mandate from the franchise. With their key acquisition from the Kyrie Irving deal languishing through the worst season of his career, the Cavs used him as bait to get a short-term (likely rental) upgrade in Hood. The swingman is a better natural shooter and scorer than Crowder, is younger at age 23 and holds his own on the defensive end. The problem with Hood for a lot of teams around the league (including the Jazz) is he’s due a fat new contract this summer in restricted free agency. The Cavs may or may not be willing to pay that (probably not without shuffling out some other pieces of roster), but they’re willing to take on the risk now to infuse this roster with more help. The Jazz get a nice cost-controlled piece in Crowder (Rose was a salary dump) over the next couple years ($7.5 million per year) for giving up Hood, and Utah should be a good place for him to rehabilitate his value.

The Hill part of the deal was rumored for weeks and was a mere salary dump by the Kings, who wanted to give off his $19 million salary next year. Joe Johnson, who was going to be seeking a buyout with the Jazz anyway, was included from Utah to make the money work, and the Kings got a 2020 second round pick for absorbing Iman Shumpert and his $11 million salary for this year and next year. Hill is gritty veteran point guard who can hit open jumpers and immediately becomes the best backcourt defender on the Cavs. He’ll be a thorn in the sides of point guards like Kyrie Irving and John Wall all postseason long, but it’s unclear how much he has left in the tank at age 31. His production has been inconsistent all year long in Sacramento (10.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.8 apg) but that could be a byproduct of a bad team more than anything else. The Cavs were happy to take the risk to find out, knowing he’s better than any alternatives they had (Shumpert was out of the rotation, Rose was simply horrible all year).

Grades:
Cavs: B+. They took on bad money for the future and sold low on Crowder, but there’s no questioning their talent improvement. They’ve mortgaged the future a bit, but they have no future anyway if James leaves.
Jazz: B+ Getting Crowder’s long-term deal for Hood’s expiring contract is a big win for a small-market team with major salary limitations.
Kings: D. They got off one bad contract they should never have paid anyway, but they took on another questionable one in Shumpert for only a second-round pick. Celtics fans can take delight in knowing that Sacramento’s 2019 first-round pick that is likely headed Boston’s way next summer.

Trade No. 3
Cavs trade Dwyane Wade to the Miami Heat for a 2024 top-55 protected second round pick

Overview: Giving away Wade was a net win for the Cavs. He’s had his moments this year, but his woeful defense and iffy shot selection caused more harm than any of his offensive outbursts created over the course of the year. Knowing this, they decided to dump him preemptively, rather than having to deal with the fallout of sliding him to the end of the bench with the arrivals of Hood, Hill and Clarkson. Wade gets to enjoy a fun reunion for the final stretch of his career in Miami and everyone ends up happy.

Grades:
Cavs: A.
Heat: A for nostalgia, C for on-court (since Wade could hurt them too).

Final Verdict: Here’s an updated look at the Cavs depth chart after the moves:

PG: Hill, Osman, Calderon,
SG: Smith, Clarkson, Korver
SF: LeBron, Hood
PF: Love (injured until April), Green
C: Thompson, Nance Jr., Zizic

That’s certainly a more promising group than the Cavs had a few days ago. There still isn’t a reliable second option with Love out of the lineup for the next few weeks, but Hood and Clarkson are capable of handling more of the offensive load better than Cleveland’s past options. Altman certainly made life tough on himself for this summer. The Cavs are going to need to dump money whether or not they keep James in order to avoid another monster luxury tax repeater bill. However, if Ty Lue and the Cavs coaching staff works some magic here, it’s possible now the Cavs have done enough to get out of the Eastern Conference. Hill and Nance Jr. are potential crunch-time defensive options that will prevent Cleveland’s defense from becoming a revolving door inside the paint. An engaged James will help matters there as well.

Still, I’d still take the field over the Cavs in the East this postseason. Continuity is a valuable weapon in the postseason, and the teams that keep their cores intact (with some minor additions on the fringes) are the ones that usually go deepest in the postseason. James is ultimately the wildcard, since he still remains the best player in the East and hasn’t been dethroned of an NBA Finals berth since 2010. Still, he’s going to need the collection of role players surrounding him to raise their games to get by the Raptors, Celtics and company.