Fansided

30 biggest answers for the 2017-18 NBA season

By Jeremy Lambert

SACRAMENTO, CA - JANUARY 8: Zaza Pachulia
SACRAMENTO, CA - JANUARY 8: Zaza Pachulia /
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CLEVELAND, OH – JANUARY 2: Isaiah Thomas #3 listens to LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Quicken Loans Arena on January 2, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – JANUARY 2: Isaiah Thomas #3 listens to LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Quicken Loans Arena on January 2, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

30. Will the Cleveland Cavaliers go all in?

What I Said Then: While LeBron can usually book his trip to the Finals in October, this years Cavaliers are a bit…underwhelming. Isaiah Thomas won’t be healthy until January, Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade are in 2017, Tristan Thompson impregnated Khloe Kardashian, and Kevin Love is somehow the guy who people are like, “Hey, I like Kevin Love and he’s pretty good.”

So, will the Cavs go all in and trade the pick with LeBron’s future up in the air? Probably not. And that’s completely fine.

What I’m Saying Now: They didn’t go all in by trading the famed Brooklyn first-round pick. But they certainly shook things up at the trade deadline. They traded Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye and Dwyane Wade for Rodney Hood, George Hill, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. and draft picks.

They got off to a 5-7 start, but a 13 game win streak silenced any doubters. The return of Thomas did more harm than good. Their already shaky defense got worse and Thomas thought he was the star of the team. He also made the fatal mistake of calling out Kevin Love and only LeBron can call out Kevin Love.

Shipping off Thomas brought an immediate joy to the Cavaliers. James looked rejuvenated, even if it meant more offensive pressure on him. Their defense remained an eye sore, but who cares about defense in the regular season? Not LeBron.

The Cavaliers did the best they could to go all-in this season. They were reluctant to trade the Brooklyn pick because they has no assurances that James will stay past this season. But they managed to get rid of a lot of dead weight for guys who can still contribute. Most importantly, they made LeBron smile.

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