In the modern NBA, where player movement happens constantly and continuity is king, contending teams try not to do too much to rock the boat during the season.
But this week’s three-team trade featuring the Cavaliers and Thunder, not to mention the Timofey Mozgov deal Cleveland pulled off a day later, is proof both of these teams know their current mix simply isn’t good enough to get them to the Finals.
The Cavaliers have been in flux all season and now only more so after sending out, in the two deals, Dion Waiters and a protected first-round pick from Memphis in exchange for J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Mozgov.
The Cavaliers always were going to be able to score with a roster featuring LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, and they rank 10th in the NBA in offensive efficiency. Not great, but James is now sitting out and Irving also has missed some time. As the season progresses, the three stars will begin to get more comfortable playing together.
But the Cavaliers had no chance of winning a championship if they didn’t improve their defense, which is currently a woeful 24th in the NBA. Considering virtually every champion has been at least a top-12 defense, being one of the worst defensive teams isn’t going to be good enough.
And given that Irving and Love are poor defenders and James seems to have lost a step defensively — either because of the knee and back injuries he’s playing through or simply because of all the wear and tear on his body — this wasn’t going to be like what James did with the Heat, where he, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh set the tone for how their team would play defense and everyone fell in line.
So Cavaliers general manager David Griffin went out and used a good chunk of the assets the team had amassed — Waiters, the former No. 4 overall pick who has been very available in trade talks for some time, and the Memphis pick they acquired by taking on several million dollars in salary from the Grizzlies two years ago — to get a wing defender in Shumpert, a defensive-minded center in Mozgov and a replacement for Waiters, both in bench scoring and temperament, in Smith. Whether or not Cleveland paid too much — there’s no doubt they overpaid for Mozgov, as Denver leveraged the Cavaliers perfectly, forcing Cleveland to give up a pair of protected first-rounders — is another matter.
Then there’s the question of whether Smith will cause headaches, as he so often has throughout his NBA career. But sources say there were some within the organization who pushed to add Smith. He is a better catch-and-shoot option than Waiters — something the Cavaliers will welcome with players such as James, Irving and Love attracting so much attention.
Once Shumpert is healthy, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him and Mozgov in the starting lineup next to Cleveland’s Big Three, with Smith coming off the bench along with backup point guard Matthew Dellavadova, forwards Shawn Marion and Mike Miller and big man Tristan Thompson. That will give Cleveland more of a defensive presence, but will it be enough for the Cavaliers to win big?
The fate of coach David Blatt depends on it. Part of Cleveland’s long-standing fascination with Mozgov is because of the presence of Blatt, who coached Mozgov on the Russian national team that finished with the bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics.
But Blatt’s been under fire almost from the jump in Cleveland. He was hired before James chose to return to Cleveland, then Blatt had to wait almost the entire summer to get his first audience with the best player on his team — and that came on a movie set.
With the Cavaliers off to a 19-17 start, there has been plenty of speculation about Blatt’s future and whether his time in Cleveland will come to a very abrupt end. But these moves, in addition to giving the Cavs some defensive spine, give Blatt the roster that will either secure his perch or set him up to be moved aside for James’ preferred coach. Outside of adding a couple of buyout candidates after the trade deadline, this is roughly what the Cavaliers will go to battle with in the playoffs.
In Oklahoma City, the addition of Waiters is a bit of a head-scratcher. If there’s one thing you don’t think the Thunder need, it’s another scorer — not on a team featuring Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Reggie Jackson.
It initially seemed as if Shumpert would be headed to Oklahoma City, where he might have upgraded their shooting guard spot currently filled by Andre Roberson — a very good defender who offers almost no offense.
But instead it was Waiters going to the Thunder, giving them an additional spark off the bench but also leaving many wondering if this isn’t just the first of a series of potential moves.
Why? For starters, this moved the Thunder just over the luxury-tax line — and ownership has steadfastly refused to pay tax in the past. Perhaps it’s a realization of the clock ticking on Durant’s 2016 free agency, but it’s just as likely it’s a possible alternative if they choose to move on from Jackson — either at the trade deadline or in restricted free agency this summer.
Jackson is agitating to start and isn’t playing as well as he did last season, particularly with his 3-point shooting, which is below 30 percent. Oklahoma City proved with James Harden they won’t mess around in restricted free agency. With teams such as the Knicks and Lakers in need of point guards and with cash to spend, the Thunder could choose to make Waiters their lead bench scorer and move Jackson either for another piece at the deadline or let him walk as a free agent.
The question is whether Waiters, who wanted to start in Cleveland and struggled to adjust to being a fourth option, will do any better being a third or fourth option with the Thunder. And it’s hard to believe he won’t have at least one dustup with Westbrook over ball-hogging.
Then you also have to consider where the Thunder are in the standings. Oklahoma City sit in 10th place in the Western Conference, four games behind the Spurs and Suns, who are tied for seventh. Perhaps adding Waiters, who was taken into a trade exception created by sign-and-trading Thabo Sefolosha to Atlanta this summer, is seen by the Thunder as giving them additional firepower to make it to the postseason — a legitimate concern given the level of competition in the West.
But it’s not just about this spring. How these moves pay off for the Cavaliers and Thunder will affect the trajectories of both marquee franchises for years to come.