By AMAURIS PERALTA MUNOZ
The Cleveland Cavaliers just moved up the board from potentially not being a contender for the NBA Finals, to being one of the top contenders to eventually compete for the championship
On Thursday Feb. 8th, the Cavaliers knew they could not let the trade deadline pass without making some changes to their roster. They had spent the whole month losing, being blown out and a disconnection of team mates in the locker room. In addition, there has been tension between Lebron James and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert.
Cleveland’s first move of Thursday afternoon was sending recently acquired point guard Isaiah Thomas, veteran Channing Frye, and a 2018 first round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers. In return they would receive guard Jordan Clarkson and forward Larry Nance Jr.
Turning Point
No more than a half an hour later, the Cavaliers made a statement making sure the rest of the NBA knew they were not done yet and that their eye is on that Larry O’Brien trophy. In a three team blockbuster move with the Sacramento Kings and the Utah Jazz, the Cavaliers shipped out Derick Rose and Jae Crowder to Utah, as Utah sent Rodney Hood to Cleveland and Joe Johnson to Sacramento. In addition, Iman Shumpert and a 2020 second round draft pick was traded to Sacramento, as the Cavaliers continued to strengthen their roster with acquiring George Hill.
“With a new blend of young players, better shooting and defense, the Cavaliers can truly now compete for the Eastern Conference and play for the overall championship,” said ex Ramapo College basketball player Joseph Rodriguez. “My predictions for the NBA finals no longer included the Boston Celtics, I am going with the Houston Rockets for the west and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the east,” he added.
The Cavaliers were not done just yet with cleaning out their locker room. Their third trade before the 3 pm deadline happened unexpectedly with superstar and one year contract Dwayne Wade. The team traded Dwayne Wade back to the team that was his home for 13 seasons and the team he wanted to retire at, the Miami Heat.
From fans, to athletes, everyone was shocked in the moves made by Cleveland on Thursday, but since then everyone knows they are ready to play. Since the trade deadline, the Utah Jazz have released Derick Rose and the Cleveland Cavaliers blew out the Boston Celtics 121-99 on Sunday night. The new acquired players combined for a total of 49 points on their first game with Cleveland and the team could have not been happier.
They will return to action on Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Great story, I learned more about the Cavaliers trade than I had already read into. It was also good that you gave an update to the Cav’s recent results since the trades.