Koby Altman, the General Manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers told the sports media in town on Thursday that his Cleveland Cavaliers team decided to stand down and not make a move as the trade deadline approached at 3 PM. Cleveland already has a core of very young talent that is building off of every win and loss and learning to become contenders for the foreseeable future.
Altman on this trade deadline moment said that there wasn’t a move to be made that would “move the needle” and with the trade already for Donovan Mitchell this past offseason and the return of Ricky Rubio to the team from injury, he felt the team was headed in the right direction.
Koby Altman said there wasn’t anything that would “move the needle” for the #Cavs, wants to give this young group opportunity to grow together
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) February 9, 2023
While the Cavs stood pat there were some moves by other teams in the Eastern Conference that we’ll share that could challenge the Cavaliers, but for the most part by Cleveland holding steady, they’ve probably helped their case even more and will continue to win in the East and get to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets tried to buy themselves a title when they put together a “Super Team” a couple of seasons ago, including Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. That never happened and really never got close to being a reality.
Now, the Nets are a shell of themselves after this week of trades. Irving started the week by whining about wanting a trade and got his wish when he was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks. Good luck, Mavericks, because your team will likely not be recognizable after a few months of Irving playing for you.
Durant then was traded on Thursday to the Phoenix Suns for half of the Suns’ team and a bag of chips. Now the Suns have become instant Western Conference favorites and the Nets, who are currently hanging in the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference standings and 1.5 games behind Cleveland, will likely fall out of serious contention the rest of the season.
The future could be brighter for the Nets as they pocketed four unprotected 1st-round picks (2023, 2025, 2027, 2029) and a 2028 1st-round pick swap, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and Jae Crowder. However, for now, the Cavaliers are the big winner in this battle of teams and trades.