The Cleveland Cavaliers have been actively searching for trades to help the team improve since they have been struggling mightily over the last month. They had been attempting to make deals with multiple teams up until the deadline.
Cleveland’s main target has been DeAndre Jordan, and they have been in talks with the Los Angeles Clippers but need a third team to help facilitate the trade. They have also been in talks with the Charlotte Hornets to acquire Kemba Walker, but the Hornets don’t want to give up Walker so easily.
Lakers and Cavaliers make mega trade
Failing to get the two aforementioned players, the Cavaliers turned their attention elsewhere. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, they have traded Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, and their own 2018 first-round to the Los Angeles Lakers for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr.
The pick that Cleveland is sending to the Lakers will have protections on it, according to Wojnarowski.
How this trade works for both teams?
By trading Clarkson, who has a deal that goes beyond 2018, the Lakers clear up a lot of cap space for the summer which they can then use the extra money to pursue max players. To get rid of Clarkson’s contract, they had to attach another young piece to the deal, which is why they stuck in Nance Jr.
The Cavaliers now get two young players with plenty of potential to complement LeBron James and company. Nance Jr. is not the best defender in the league, but he is athletic, could run the floor well, and has quick hands. Meanwhile, Clarkson will become a potent scorer off Cleveland’s bench.
For the Lakers, they get Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye’s expiring contracts, which benefits them for the summer.
Although the Lakers already have a point guard in Lonzo Ball, they will perhaps have Thomas for half the season and won’t re-sign him after his contract is up.
This trade means that the Lakers are most likely going to keep Julius Randle, and Kyle Kuzma will now earn more minutes.
Thomas was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers this past offseason, but he has not panned out alongside James.
His defense was problematic for Cleveland, which has forced them to move the undersized point guard. The Cavaliers will now hang on to Brooklyn’s first-round pick. However, this doesn’t mean they will stop trading, as J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Tristan Thompson will still be discussed in trades in the final hours of the deadline.
