NBA Trade Deadline 2018: 5 trades to keep LeBron James happy in Cleveland
By Tre LyDay
1. The Jordan trade
Cavs receive: DeAndre Jordan and Lou Williams
Clippers receive: Tristan Thompson, Jae Crowder and Nets 2018 first-round pick
There’s been a lot of talk about whether the Cavs should attempt to acquire the Clippers center knowing he would most likely hinder what they do offensively to some degree. On the flip side he would definitely fix their problem with rim protection. In the Cavs game against the Oklahoma City Thunder the Cavs were shredded in the paint, which eventually led to the Thunder making it rain from downtown.
Jordan has an option after this season, and he’s reportedly already informed the Clippers that he doesn’t intend to pick up that option at the end of this season. That’s not to say that he’d pick up that option if traded to Cleveland, but there’s always the possibility that he does.
Lou Williams as everyone knows is instant offense off the bench, and even though he’d be coming off the bench he’d be a fantastic pairing with James to take some of the scoring pressure off of him when James is on the bench, and when James sits.
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The Clippers are somehow someway in the playoff hunt even with all the injuries they’ve suffered. Should they fall more and a few games out of that eight spot in the west then it might be time for them to go full on tank mode, and prepare for next season. The Clippers haven’t had a lottery pick since they drafted Blake Griffin, and who knows they might hit again on another great talent in the lottery.
The Cavs have to do something to improve this team, and they have to exhaust all options to make it happen. They don’t care about the regular season, it’s all about the playoffs for them. Playoff LeBron is the best LeBron, but since the only thing on his mind is actually winning the title then they have to do everything they can to make that happen. Gilbert said he won’t make the mistake of not having a back-up plan should James leave again -that backup plan being the Nets pick- but if he’s serious about a title then screw the back-up plan.