What exactly is the g.o.a.t. doing?
In recent weeks, the Cleveland Cavaliers have seen turmoil from media speculating of an internal rift with players and head coach David Blatt. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving have both dismissed rumors saying everything in Ohio is okay and they’re looking to have success in the playoffs this April and beyond.
With Anderson Varejão out for the regular season with injuries, the team acted quickly making a blockbuster trade with the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder. Cleveland now acquires guards J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert for the price of their standout 6th Dion Waiters. The Thunder were rumored to have traded Reggie Jackson in the three-team trade, but are only giving up a protected future first-round pick to Cleveland.
Waiters will be immediate inserted into the starting line-up, alongside Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant – to provide a much-needed spark on their bench. Along with cap relief for the off-season, the Knicks receive rookie center Alex Kirk from Cleveland and are set to waive Samuel Dalmbert before Wednesday to save $2 million.
In his first year with the Knicks, Phil Jackson has managed to ink his franchise player Carmelo Anthony to a max-contact over the summer and clear cap-space before their all-out-run at free agents in six months. With only five total wins through two months of play, New York is destined for a top three pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
Both Amare Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani contracts valued at $30 million come off the books this year, as the Zen Master will have a little spending to make the Knicks a legitimate team. J.R. Smith was set to make a little over $6 million next season in the final year of his contract, while Iman Shumpert would see $4 million in the rotten apple. With his sidekicks gone, we expect the Knicks to make a formal announcement of shutting down Carmelo Anthony for the rest of the season to recuperate his body for next year.
The winners of this deal are obviously the Thunder, because they didn’t lose any of their core players and added a flat-out scorer in Waiters. Whether the Cavs are able to gel now with a mid-season trade remains to be seen, but adding J.R. Smith around veteran superstars is a smart choice for Cleveland’s playoff hopes.
