Cavs Trade: Grading the Deal for All Involved

C. For Waiters this is an interesting trade. He gets a fresh start with a team that sought him out and wants him. That will make Dion feel good and likely light a fire under the guard out of Syracuse. On the other hand he goes from a team with 3 stars that like the ball in their hand to one with 2 stars and a backup guard who like the ball in their hand. In essence the Thunder already have a better version of Waiters in <strong><a href=. SG. Oklahoma City Thunder. DION WAITERS

C+. The Oklahoma City Thunder traded a first round pick for <strong><a href=. NBA Franchise. Title Contenders. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

Bench Filler. Free Agents (Soon). ALEX KIRK, LOU AMUNDSON AND LANCE THOMAS. A. For these three players it is interesting to grade the trade. They all leave teams that are looking to compete for the NBA Title to be on the Knicks roster for a day or so. They get an A grade because it is reported that the Knicks are going to waive all of them. Thomas and Kirk should get picked up due to youth alone but at least none of them will likely have to play for the terrible team the Knicks are right now.

NEW YORK KNICKS. A. The Knicks may have been the hardest grade of all. They traded away two rotation caliber players, and released another in <strong><a href=. NBA Franchise. Sort of

Cleveland Cavaliers. J.R. SMITH. B+. For J.R. Smith this is the first time in a long time that he will be on a team with high aspirations. He has a chance to start to change the narrative about his game by playing good team basketball around the Cavs Big 3. He also gets a chance to be the offensive spark plug off the bench that the Cavs desperately need. His role is clearly defined, once everyone is healthy, which should help keep him within the game. A solid showing and Smith could turn down his player option and be an option for other competitive clubs if he plays well the remainder of this year. He gets the plus (+) because he got an extra 500K for being traded. If you know Smith’s history, he is likely to put that to good use. We will have more on Smith later today.. Sixth Man

B-. Like Smith, this is the first time in awhile that Shumpert will be on a team competing for something. Only once in his  going on 4 year career has Iman been on a team with high expectations, that hopefully will meet them. Knicks teams, like Notre Dame football, always seem to have expectations but generally that hasn’t been grounded in anything. On a low talent, losing team, Shumpert has tried to become more than his talent allows. He can be a good to great perimeter defender with talent in the open floor on offense. His shooting has improved but trying to be an all around playmaker is not his skillset. With the Cavs, like Smith, he will have a given role when he comes back from injury. He will likely start and give the Cavs their first big solid defender at the 2 guard spot since… Well since LeBron James played the role. He will play off the ball and will have to work hard on his corner 3 point shot. Shumpert is a restricted free agent and may have come to a team that is willing to overpay him a little bit to keep him around the rest of their young core but he won’t get a chance to “showcase” himself as more than a role player. We will have more on Shumpert later today.. SG. Cleveland Cavaliers. IMAN SHUMPERT

C. Some years First Round Draft Picks are treated like gold. Other years they are traded for Dion Waiters. For this First Round Draft Pick (FRDP), protected in the Top 18 in this upcoming draft, it may not yet have found a home. The Cavs could trade the pick quickly to acquire a big man or could move the pick at the NBA Draft. Sadly FRDP could be out of Cleveland quickly but FRDP will find itself very valued by the team, at least for what they can get from it. Such is the life of a FRDP. Most likely: Nice knowing you.. Protected. NBA Draft. FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICK

A+. Anyone grading this trade for the Cavaliers in any other way is foolish. The Cavs had very few trade assets before this move. Dion Waiters and the Memphis Grizzlies first round pick where the only actual basketball assets they had. they had an injury exception and a trade exception but those are financial assets (Next year’s Brendan Hawyood’s contract is a huge version of a financial asset, which is why he likely won’t be moved this year.). So the Cavs took 1 trade asset, Waiters, and turned him into their starting shooting guard with a defensive pedigree, an older, better version of Waiters and another trade asset in the first round pick from the Thunder. Some would have made the Waiters trade straight up for Shumpert, others just for the first round pick. Bring in Smith, a player that LeBron James knows and has worked with for years, could be difficult, but no more difficult than dealing with Waiters, whose game didn’t mesh on the floor with the rest of the team. The Cavs stole the show here. Shumpert may have lost some athleticism with his knee surgery but his should return healthy and he and Smith get to join a team full of talent. The Cavs still have two trade assets, now it is two first round picks, to continue to shop for more help for a rim protector. With Shumpert, and a healthy James, less guards/wings will enter air space down low anyways. Even if the Cavs don’t trade the new first round pick, they will have two firsts in the upcoming draft to really upgrade their team. Keeping young players around is always a good thing.. NBA Franchise. Finals Hopeful. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS