J-Speaks: Knicks, Cavaliers and Thunder Execute Trade

When the 2014-15 NBA campaign began, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks had different, but lofty expectations. The Knicks hoped to get back into the playoffs after a disappointing season that had them on the outside of the playoffs looking in. The Cleveland Cavaliers with the return of LeBron James and the addition of Kevin Love alongside Kyrie Irving hoped that they would competing for supremacy in the Eastern Conference and capturing the city of Cleveland’s first professional sports title in nearly five decades. The Thunder who were runner’s up to the eventual world champion San Antonio Spurs hoped to get back to The Finals and this time win it. A combination of injuries, inconsistent play and the fact that each conference has gotten better has put all three teams behind the eight ball. The Knicks are at the bottom of the East. The Cavs are in the bottom half of the East playoffs and the Thunder right now are on the outside of the playoff picture in the West. They each needed a change and so they made one with the help of one another.

On Monday, the Cavs, Thunder and Knicks executed a three-team five player deal.

The Cavs received from the Knicks guard J.R. Smith and swingman Iman Shumpert as well as a protected 2015 first round pick from the Thunder.

The Thunder received from the Cavaliers, guard Dion Waiters and the Knicks received forward Lou Amundson and Alex Kirk from the Cavs and forward Lance Thomas from the Thunder. The Knicks also received a 2019 second round pick from the Cavs. The Knicks also on Monday waived center Samuel Dalembert, which will save them $2 million of his $3.8 million salary for this season. With the luxury tax included, the Knicks will save even more.

Whenever a trade is made like this, especially when it involves high profile teams of this nature, the question is always asked, who made out as the big winner?

At initial glance in this case, there is no real big winner, but this deal accomplish a great deal for each team.

For the Cavs (19-17), they added two wings guys that are expected to make a major impact at both ends, which they really need right now.

Of the two though, Shumpert maybe the most important because his ability to defend on the perimeter is an asset that is much needed right now.

Since the start of the season, the Cavs have inconsistent as far as guarding people on the perimeter, let alone putting the clamps on the opposition’s offense.

On Monday night, the team could not hold onto a 17-point lead against the Philadelphia 76ers, a team that had yet to win a game at home this season. The Sixers (5-29) defeated the Cavs 95-92 to earn their first win at home in 20 chances and sent the Cavs to their fourth loss in their last 10 games.

“The guys played under some pretty adverse conditions and mentally they responded well,” Cavs’ head coach, who informed his team of the trade prior to tip-off said after the game.

“It’s never easy to have that kind of thing happen at any point during the season and certainly not right before a game, but on the other hand this is part of basketball and part of the profession and guys handled it very well.”

The hope is that Shumpert (9.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg), who is expected to be out for a while with and injury and Smith can come in and pick things up quickly, especially in the case of Smith.

It was just two seasons ago that he won the 2013 Sixth Man of the Year Award with career-high numbers of 18.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest, while earing 3.9 trips to the free throw line. In 24 games with the Knicks prior to the trade, he only averaged 10.9 points, 2.4 boards and getting to the line just 1.6 times per game.

In his first game with the Cavs, he did not show well missing all five of his field goal attempts, four of which were from three-point range in 18 minutes off the bench as the Cavs fell 105-93 versus the Houston Rockets (24-11).

Both Smith and Shumpert will need to quickly fit in with the Cavs because right now, they are sinking in the East and in a season that was supposed to be one where the dream of winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy has become an inconsistent, head scratching nightmare where they may not have home-court advantage in any round of the playoffs.

It has gotten worse without superstar LeBron James on the court, who is expected to be out for another week because of knee and back soreness. The team has lost six out of seven games this season without the four-time MVP, who is expected to return when the Cavs embark on a five-game West coast trip that begins this Friday at the Golden State Warriors (28-5).

The team was not finished tinkering with their roster as on Wednesday they acquired center Timofey Mosgov from the Denver Nuggets along with a 2015 second round pick. The Cavs sent two protected 2015 first round picks to the Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies.

Mosgov (8.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg) immediately fills a need for the struggling Cavs who lost starting center Anderson Varejao for the remainder of the season to a torn left Achilles tendon. He is also very familiar with coach Blatt having played for him overseas before with the Russian national team. That familiarity will hopefully give the Cavs the paint presence on both ends of the court that has been sorely lacking in recent games, especially at the defensive end and on the glass, where they were outrebounded 50-37 and outscored 46-36 in the paint on Wednesday night versus the Rockets.

“In all honesty, Timofey Mosgov was on our board this summer. He was a guy we wanted here in Cleveland,” Blatt said after the game on Wednesday night, their third in a row and seventh setback in 10 chances.

“Took a little bit longer, but kudos to David Griffin and the management for finding a way to bring him.” 

The Thunder began this season with hopes of getting back to The Finals, where they have not been since falling to the four-time 2014 Eastern Conference champion and the back-to-back champion Miami Heat, who defeated the Thunder 4-1 in the 2012 NBA Finals, led by James.

Things did not start well for the Thunder (17-19), who were without the dynamic duo of last season’s league MVP Kevin Durant and starting lead guard Russell Westbrook because of a broken foot and broken hand respectably.

They both returned in the late stages of Nov. 2014 and early Dec. 2014 and they went from 4-12 to 13 wins in their last 19 games.

Despite all of that though, they still trail the Phoenix Suns (21-16), by three games for the eighth and last playoff spot in the West.

The addition of Waiters gives the Thunder another offensive weapon off the bench and maybe the missing third consistent scorer that they have been lacking since current Rockets guard James Harden.

The key is for Waiters to play with force and confidence on a consistent basis, which he has yet to do in his young NBA career.

Ever since the No. 4 overall pick out of Syracuse entered the NBA in 2012, he has shown flashes of brilliance and scoring ability.

The hope is playing with Durant and Westbrook and the rest of the Thunder that Waiters can become consistent as an offensive player as well as one who is committed to competing at the defensive end.

“I’ve followed him like I follow all players in the league. He brings an offensive game. Defensively, he’s going to bring some toughness there and I like his ability to make plays to,” Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said of Waiters after the team’s 117-91 loss at the Golden State Warriors (27-5) on Monday night.

“He’s not just coming here to shoot the ball. He’s gonna have to defend and pass the ball, but I like what he’s done. He’s gonna have a great opportunity to be with a good group of guys and were going to continue to get better as the season goes on.”

One major reason that Waiters, who is averaging a career-lows 10.5 points on 40.4 percent shooting, play for the rest of this season will be big for his new team is the uncertainty of back-up guard Reggie Jackson.

The restricted free agent at season’s end, who is posting career-high numbers of 15.3 points and 5.1 assists has made it known that he wants to be the lead on a team and not the understudy like he has been in his career with the Thunder.

Back on Sept. 3, 2014, Jackson said to The Oklahoman on being a starter, which he was to start the season with Westbrook injured, “I don’t think about coming off the bench for any team. If that’s the role I’m put in, that’s what I’m put in. But since the day I thought about playing in the NBA, I’ve always been a starter.

In a statement via Basketball Insiders, Jackson said on Oct. 1, 2014, “I want to be a starter. I’ve always wanted to be a starter. I’ve always wanted to be great. All the greats I’ve seen started, so that’s kind of the mold.”

On Nov. 4, 2014 Jackson said to The Oklahoman, “When I said command a team, I didn’t mean be a temporary starter or anything like that. Just trying to play my role while I’m here.”

By bringing in Waiters and giving up a first round pick, which is something the under and their GM Sam Presti never do, they are banking on Waiters coming in and making the Thunder better.

His addition along with the likes Anthony Morrow, Andre Roberson, Jeremy Lamb, and the aforementioned Westbrook and Jackson, the Thunder have a solid guard rotation of guys who can score, pass and defend.

The question is can they put it all together and soon. The West this season is brutal and the Suns recently have been on a tear. Their 102-96 victory at the Milwaukee Bucks (18-18) on Monday night was their eighth victory in their last 10 contests.

Waiters had a rough beginning with the Thunder on Wednesday night as he had just four points on 1 for 9 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench as the Thunder fell at the Sacramento Kings (15-20) 104-83, their first defeat against the Kings since Feb. 12, 2012 and their second setback in succession.  

For the Knicks (5-33), who lost a new franchise record 13th straight contest at the Washington Wizards (254-11) 101-91 on Wednesday night, they were able to get even more under the salary cap looking to better days next season and hopefully beyond.

After a disappointing 37-45 season, which had them outside the playoff picture in the East, they saw this season as one of redemption, especially with superstar forward Carmelo Anthony back after signing a five-year $24 million contract this off-season.

Unfortunately, this proud franchise has put itself and its fans through a very difficult season which has seen them fall to the worst record in the NBA.

With the team in a deep hole this season with no way out, what now?

Even with money to spend this summer, who would want to come to clean up this mess, even with the great Phil Jackson, owner of 13 championship rings, 11 of which as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers in the front office?

“As our journey moves through this season, we will search for the type of players that fit the style we hope to exhibit for our fans. Our desire is to improve our ability to compete. … In addition, these transactions improve our flexibility to the current roster and the salary cap for future seasons,” Jackson said via Twitter on Monday night.

That is an even bigger reason why the prospect of shutting down Anthony (23.9 ppg-4^th NBA, 6.6 rpg), who has been dealing with a troublesome knee the past few weeks is not the best thing to do.

Not only is Anthony the best player on the team, he is the main attraction; their best sounding board and if you really think about it, the last true hope for this team to get back to the top.

It is one thing to be great in the best of times. The true measure of someone is to bring it and get better when things are not so great.

Most players when they reach a certain point in their career, they want to be a part of a team that has a chance to win it all year in and year out.

Anthony could have done that this summer, but he chose to stay where the money was and with a person in Jackson who solid him on the fact he and the front office could build the Knicks into a consistent playoff contender and into a championship contender.

Getting Smith off the books; a high draft pick this summer and a solid war chest of #28 million right now is a solid place to start off. It all comes down to results in the world of pro sports. If the Knicks want to get to that point, they first need Anthony to come back and show that he has all the fight in the world in him to finish this season and that New York is the destination for any big time free agent this off-season and in the years to come.

When you have high aspirations at the start of a season and those aspirations are derailed, temporarily or for an extended period, doing something is a lot better than just staying stilled and hoping for something to happen. The Knicks, Cavaliers and Thunder made a move that will pan out and changed their narrative. The Cavs and Thunder hope their moves in this three-team deal land them in a better position to make some noise in the playoffs, while the Knicks hope this starts their rise back to playoff contention and eventually championship contention.

Information, quotations and statistics are courtesy of 1/6/15 6:30 p.m. addition of “The Starters” on NBATV with J.E. Skeets, Tas Melas, Leigh Ellis and Trey Kerby; 1/8/15 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime” with Vince Cellini, Dennis Scott and Shaquille O’Neal; www.espn.go.com/NBA; Jan. 6 espn.go.com article “How the Thunder landed Dion Waiters,” by Royce Young.