It is a very important concept in problem-solving that you don’t want to fix one problem by causing another one somewhere else. A classic Ernie and Bert sketch from Sesame Street has Ernie breaking a cookie jar, and then continually solving the problem in front of him by causing a subsequent problem. He puts the cookies from the broken jar into the sugar bowl, then puts the sugar into the flower pot, the flowers into the milk bottle, and so forth. While the audience laughs, Bert is incensed.
NBA teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers have to approach problem-solving with the practicality of Bert. If they are building a team of players set to win at the highest level, they can’t solve one problem by creating another one somewhere else. Trading your rim protector for a 3-point shooter boosts the offense and hurts the defense; teams have to solve both problems, so simply shifting the problem around doesn’t work in a vacuum.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are too smart to solve one problem by causing another.
Unfortunately, in a season where trade rumors are filling the air like a thick fog, many fans and even much of the media are a little too much like Ernie. They see a team’s need and suggest a trade to solve it without considering the bigger picture. They effectively stuff the cookies in the sugar bowl and expect someone more responsible to deal with the fallout.
One such trade from the popular NBA trade engine Fanspo does just this. It looks at the Cavs’ need for a wing, connects the reporting that they have had discussions about Tim Hardaway Jr., and suggests a solution that just causes problems elsewhere. Let’s dig into the deal and see just how bad a solution it is.