Cleveland Cavaliers: Losing Wade hurts but it’s just a flesh wound

The Cleveland Cavaliers did about as well as they could have at the trade deadline. Most importantly, they got younger and bigger in the backcourt.

Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman has had his share of backlash due to what has transpired this season involving the infamous Kyrie Irving trade this past summer.

The Cavaliers did not get what they wanted out of the ever-injured Isaiah Thomas, both on and off the floor with the locker room dynamic. Even though Cleveland got selfless bench contributions from Dwyane Wade, they got younger and better with their moves at the trade deadline.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, they traded the struggling Thomas to the Los Angeles Lakers, along with Channing Frye and a protected first-round pick. In exchange, the Cavs received guard Jordan Clarkson and big man Larry Nance Jr.

Cleveland was far from done, though.

They then got a deal done involving George Hill of the Sacramento Kings, while also snagging wing Rodney Hood of the Utah Jazz. Cleveland shipped out Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose to Utah, in exchange for that pairing, while Sacramento landed Iman Shumpert from the Cavs (again, per Wojnarowski).

Wojnarowski’s last “bomb”?

Cleveland dealing Wade back to his original team, the Miami Heat, in exchange for a heavily protected Heat 2020 second-round pick. Wojnarowski then reported that they dealt a second-round pick from Miami to the Kings as part of a three-team deal.

To summarize, Altman held out to the last-minute to preserve the prized Brooklyn Nets’ first-round pick Cleveland has in the upcoming NBA Draft and the Cleveland roster got a new surge of life going forward the rest of this season for a playoff push.

So, how does these trades impact the Cavs now?

With Wade’s bench playmaking, timely scoring and defensive splashes, it will take some time to compensate for the Cavs nearly all-new backcourt to figure out their chemistry on both ends.

For starters, arguably the biggest benefit from the trade deadline is getting Thomas out of the picture. His frame and lack of fit on both ends were apparent for the vast majority of his time in a Cavalier uniform, and Cleveland replaced him with Hill, who (per KJG’s own Quenton Albertie) has a 6-foot-9 wingspan.

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That’s a key aspect as to why he’s had a reputation of being a top-notch defensive guard in the NBA for a number of years. Hill’s had a rough year on a rebuilding Sacramento squad and he’s had his share of injuries in his career but he’s still potentially a key addition for Cleveland’s dynamic on both ends. Hill is a willing passer and he doesn’t need a high usage rate to be effective, as Thomas did.

Albertie alluded to that in his piece as well:

"“The best thing about Hill, offensively, could be that he’s shooting 45.3 percent from three-point range (47.1 percent on catch-and-shoot threes). His ability to thrive off-ball may be the most underrated part of his acquisition, with Kyle Korver appearing as the Cavs’ only elite three-point threat.”"

As far as his play with the ball, Hill has always made sound decisions in pick-and-roll.

Although he’s not nearly the passer of Wade in transition and in the halfcourt (especially in assisting LeBron James), Hill doesn’t need as much of the shot clock to make winning plays against quality opponents. He also has more defensive versatility in isolation at a bit younger age than Wade currently has, as his defense is not nearly what it once was with his barrage of knee injuries.

Hill’s length allows him to play sound in pick-and-roll coverage, hug shooters on the perimeter and in the passing lanes in defending cutting situations and when he’s fully engaged (as he was last year with Utah), he rarely gets out of position when defending primary ball-handlers. When he’s fully healthy, he can be a very disruptive on-ball defender. In addition to his individual defensive ability, Hill’s chemistry with Hood (which was developed in Utah) could bring this Cavs squad a considerable boost offensively.

Hood is a polished scorer, who can fill it up both as a spot-up threat off of penetration from James or Hill, or on the ball as an improved pull-up man.

Hill should have a lethal setup in the pick-and-roll game with a roller such as the newly acquired Nance and he’ll be able to find J.R. Smith, Jeff Green. Korver and Hood out of that action.

You throw Kevin Love, and at times James, into that mix as well, this team will be very hard to stop.

Especially when subtracting a non-effective Thomas and Wade, who was a below average three-point threat, whether off-the-bounce or set. Hood and Korver will be able to eat well from Tristan Thompson, Green and Love’s flare screens while James and Hill will be ready to fire it to them.

While Korver is already one of the best off-ball players in the league, Hood could further establish himself as one of them in Cleveland.

He’s a lifetime 37.0 percent shooter from deep, per Basketball Reference, and he will have a ton of room to operate with the driving ability of James, Green and Jordan Clarkson. Hood is only in the 55th percentile in effectiveness off screens, per Synergy but he was much better with Hill running the point earlier in his career. With James, his efficiency will skyrocket in that area and his 6-foot-8 height could help the Cavs in their closeouts on the defensive end against guards and spot-up wings. Being on a better team could bring his defense to a different level, along with Clarkson, who is also a bigger guard.

Clarkson is Wade-lite. As a long, 6-foot-5 combo guard with great speed and athleticism, hecan help the older Cavs in transition.

He’s a scorer with the ball in his hands, like Wade was, as evidenced by a considerable 14.3 points per game for his career. Clarkson is a capable isolation player who can create for himself with a variety of pull-ups, occasional stepbacks, drives, and is a lifetime 80.7 percent foul shooter.

He is adept at changing speeds to keep defenders off balance and he could allow players such as Green and Nance to get easy opportunities while playing with pace. Thomas and Wade could not play at a faster pace consistently.

In addition to that kind of combo guard scoring arsenal, Clarkson can provide some secondary playmaking (like Hood and Hill), to help out LeBron in the halfcourt, too. His 5.0 assists per 36 minutes (per Basketball Reference) are considerable for a bench player.

Clarkson is not exactly known for his defense but some of the reason for his below-average defensive metrics had to do with the lowly defense of the Lakers overall team. He has the athleticism to improve on that end, and likely will with veteran leadership around him.

Against quality teams, these three guards will be huge upgrades over IT and Iman Shumpert, who have struggled mightily this season. Furthermore, they bring youth and more off-ball ability than what Wade could.

It will be both an on-court and locker room loss in regards to Wade but these perimeter pieces could set up the Cavs to be much more effective in the coming postseason and beyond.

Lastly, according to Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, LeBron was okay with sending Wade back to his original home in the league, along with the other deals made by Altman.

#Cavs source to @clevelanddotcom on the deals today: "We all needed some wind in our sails." Front office spoke to LeBron James last night before the Minnesota game about potential deals they were gaining traction on. LeBron seemed re-invigorated didn't he?
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) February 8, 2018

So peace out, PB & J, lobs.

Now comes in the youth movement on the perimeter and away goes the liability of Thomas. When the kinks get out, the Cavs will be able to replace Wade’s production with the sum of their parts, there’s no doubt.

This makes them better equipped against the best teams in the league that warrant Cleveland needing three-point shooting and dynamic playmaking with occasional pace.

James cannot be disappointed with the addition of this more multi-faceted backcourt.