Koby Altman always makes a trade at the NBA Trade Deadline. It’s sort of his thing; he has made 14 in-season trades since taking over the team. But this year, in the midst of the Cleveland Cavaliers having their best season since LeBron James was last here, Altman decided to stand pat and not make a deal for the Cavs.
Per Chris Fedor’s always-stellar reporting and Altman’s Deadline Day press conference, we learned the reasons why. First, that the Cavaliers weren’t able to find a clear-cut upgrade on the trade market using their meager assets; just lateral moves. It wasn’t worth it to Altman to make a move just for the sake of making a move. He and the front office were working as hard as anyone to call around and discuss potential deals, but that deal to move the needle wasn’t out there.
The other reason the Cavs didn’t make a trade is that they couldn’t gain what they need the most on the trade market. What the Cavaliers need most to compete for a championship is playoff experience. Three of their five starters have never played a playoff game. This group needs to go through the inferno to learn what it means to contend in the NBA. You can’t trade for that.
28 of the league’s 30 teams made a deal in the past few weeks, with the Chicago Bulls and the Cavaliers the only two that sat things out. Will that turn out to be a mistake? Maybe, maybe not, but this team is playing really well and it seems worth it to see what they can do together.
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One other thing that Koby Altman mentioned is that the team has not discussed a contract buyout with Kevin Love, and that they don’t expect to. The longtime Cavs veteran is outside of J.B. Bickerstaff’s rotation right now, and barring injury to someone else isn’t expected to rejoin it. Does he eventually get tired of not playing and ask out? Perhaps, but he has invested a lot in this franchise, this city and his teammates. Leaving isn’t the easiest decision.
Tonight the Cavaliers will be in New Orleans to take on the Pelicans. Here on the website Josh Ungar details the “New Orleans Curse,” the Cavs’ biggest losing streak in any single arena. What will it take the break the curse?
Also on the website, John Suchan provides an “Instant Replay” for the top of the Eastern Conference yesterday. Which teams got better, which teams got worse, and what does it mean for the Cavaliers?
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The last two days were a wild maelstrom of transactions for the NBA, with plenty of players trading teams. If it’s been hard to keep up, you are not alone! You can check out a list of all the trades here on Spotrac.
Strangely enough, there were basketball games last night too. The Orlando Magic upset the Denver Nuggets behind seven players in double figures. The Atlanta Hawks dropped the short-handed Phoenix Suns, and the Milwaukee Bucks did the same to a short-handed Los Angeles Lakers team. Finally, the Brooklyn Nets beat the Chicago Bulls in the debut of the players from the Kyrie trade (but not yet the Suns trade!).
Coming up: The Cavaliers will take on the New Orleans Pelicans tonight at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN.