There was a huge NBA trade on Monday night involving the New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Cleveland Cavaliers. How is it going to impact the teams?
It was going to be a good Monday night on the road for Dion Waiters; the Cleveland Cavaliers guard was penciled into the starting lineup due to Kyrie Irving’s back ailment and LeBron James’ knee and back issues. With an easy matchup against the floundering Philadelphia 76ers, Waiters could easily have a great game to boost his confidence. Only he never made it onto the court.
More from Cleveland Cavaliers
- Predicting NBA’s Christmas Day Schedule: Lakers, Warriors highlight slate of postseason rematches
- NBA Rumors: 3 teams that should trade for Joel Embiid
- NBA rumors: How Donovan Mitchell could wind up on the trading block
- The new NBA flopping rules explained
- 2023 NBA Free Agency: 5 underrated deals that could shift NBA landscape
Hours before tip-off, Waiters was informed that he would not be taking the floor at the Wells Fargo Center and instead would be staying in the locker room. When a healthy player is held out of a NBA game he was slated to start, there are two possibilities: he got seriously injured watching game tape before game time, or he is on the verge of being traded.
After the 76ers pulled off a narrow win against the Cavaliers, a three-team trade was officially announced between the Cavaliers, the New York Knicks, and the Oklahoma City Thunder that included Dion Waiters being sent to the Thunder. There may not have been All-Stars being swapped, but the trade is still going to affect the landscape of the Western and Eastern Conferences. Here are the teams’ respective plunders:
The New York Knicks
The haul: Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk, and 2015 second-round pick (from Cleveland); Lance Thomas (from Oklahoma City)
The losses: Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith (to Cleveland)
There is going to be a new word that is going to be used after the famous “Charge!” music at Madison Square Garden: TANK! That is essentially what the New York Knicks are doing with this trade.
All three players that the Knicks received in the trade have already been waived. The Knicks also waived center Samuel Dalembert in an effort to shave $2 million of his non-guaranteed contract off the Knicks books.
Iman Shumpert was scheduled to be a restricted free agent at the end of this year for the New York Knicks while J.R. Smith held a $6.4 million player option to stay with the team once the year ended. With both Smith and Shumpert off the books when the season ends, the Knicks have further flexibility for the next free agency period.
The free-agency class this summer includes a couple big names like LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, and the emerging Jimmy Butler who would be great additions if the Knicks can convince them to come to New York. The 2015 draft class is also overflowing with talent that includes triangle-perfect center Jahlil Okafor and beastly Montrezl Harrell. After a year of struggle and turmoil, the Knicks looking forward to next year is not a bad strategy.
The Cleveland Cavaliers
The haul: Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith (from New York); protected first-round draft pick (from Oklahoma City)
The losses: Dion Waiters (to Oklahoma City); Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk, and 2015 second-round pick (to New York)
What a difference a day makes for Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith. On Sunday, they were a part of the worst team in the NBA on a road to nowhere. On Monday, they were on their way to team up with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love on a team that currently sits in playoff position. In this situation, all parties involved benefit.
More from FanSided
- Joe Burrow owes Justin Herbert a thank you note after new contract
- Chiefs gamble at wide receiver could already be biting them back
- Braves-Red Sox start time: Braves rain delay in Boston on July 25
- Yankees: Aaron Boone gives optimistic return date for Aaron Judge
- MLB Rumors: Yankees-Phillies trade showdown, Mariners swoop, India goes to Seattle
For the Cleveland Cavaliers, J.R. Smith adds a proven bench scorer (and…uh…”crafty” player) that they hoped Dion Waiters would be; and for only $1.3 million more a year if he decides to exercise his player option to return next season (Waiters was set to make $5.1 million next year; Smith will potentially make $6.4 million). Smith also has better catch-and-shoot numbers than his predecessor, shooting the 37.3 percent from the field in those situations.
Even Shumpert, who shoots 40.5 percent on catch-and-shoot jumpers, is an upgrade for the Cavaliers. When he is healthy, Shumpert provides a quicker, more defensive-minded guard to Cleveland who has been slumping on defense with a defensive rating of 108.6, which currently ranks 22nd in the NBA.
The Cavaliers did give up some depth and size by trading Amundson and Kirk, but their combined 93 minutes were negligible at best. The Cavs also mitigated those losses by trading their protected first-round pick from Memphis and the protected first-round pick from Oklahoma City in a trade to the Denver Nuggets for center Timofey Mozgov. The Cavaliers got two proven perimeter threats and 7’0 rim protector for two marginal big men, a struggling shooter, two first-round picks and a second-round draft pick.
Though the Cleveland Cavaliers may not have had the dominating season fans hoped they would out of the gate, the addition of the veterans Smith and Shumpert may jump start their season and improve their seeding the Eastern Conference. Worst-case scenario if Shumpert and Smith fail to perform, they can let Shumpert walk and look to trade Smith after this year and start from scratch no worse for wear in the summer.
The Oklahoma City Thunder
The haul: Dion Waiters (from Cleveland)
The losses: Lance Thomas (to New York); protected first-round draft pick (to Cleveland)
Dion Waiters could not have gone to a more similar, yet different situation than he did when the Oklahoma City Thunder traded for him. On the Cavaliers, Waiters was coming off the bench with two ball-dominating players in the starting lineup. On the Thunder, Waiters will be coming off the bench with two ball-dominating players in the starting lineup. So where is the difference?
The Thunder are hoping that a change of environment will help Waiters find the shooting touch he displayed last season. With Cleveland going from playoff hopefuls to championship contenders with a couple swipes of the pen, there was a lot of pressure for Waiters to continue his production for the suddenly in vogue Cavs.
The Thunder may have Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, but the way their roster was constructed before Waiters’ arrival did not scream of championship potential. Waiters has enough talent to change that trajectory paired with Reggie Jackson coming off the bench and being a part of a smaller market that tends to rally around their players rather than criticizing them does help. However, Waiters still has a lot to improve.
Coming to the Thunder, Waiters has been surprisingly inefficient shooting the ball after averaging 15.9 points on 43.3 percent shooting last season. This season, Waiters has shot 40.4 percent from the field and is only averaging 10.5 points.
In the catch-and-shoot position, where he will most likely be in with the Thunder just as he was with the Cavs, Waiters is currently shooting 27.2 percent from the field after shooting 42.1 percent last season. With Waiters only attempting 1.82 foul shots per game, he will need to start hitting those shots if he intends to be an impact player for the Thunder.