In 2022, the Cleveland Cavaliers made a move to strengthen the roster by acquiring Caris LeVert from the Indiana Pacers. The further time has moved away from that date, the worse that deal looks for the Cavaliers in hindsight.
Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report sparked memories of the deal in his recent article looking at one trade that still haunts every NBA team. Any Cavaliers fan scrolling through the piece and looking for their team would have gotten to Cleveland's section and let out a definitive 'yikes.'
The Cavaliers swapped Ricky Rubio, a lottery protected 2022 first-round pick, and two second-round picks (2022 via Houston and 2027 via Utah) for LeVert and a 2022 second-round pick (via Miami). The draft picks are going to be important here.
Buckley pointed out that the first-round pick was spent on Ben Sheppard, a quality rotation piece for the Pacers. It gets worse. Who did the 2022 second-round pick turn into? Oh, just some little known player called Andrew Nembhard.
Cavaliers' search for depth could have been solved with what they had
The problem with this trade was simple. It made sense at the time, but it turned out to be lackluster as the deal aged.
Buckley summed up the issue with LeVert well: "LeVert's play style was never the snuggest fit with Darius Garland, and it grew even less complementary once Donovan Mitchell joined the backcourt."
LeVert stuck around in Cleveland for a while. The Cavaliers guard averaged 12.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.0 steal in 28.5 minutes per game, shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from beyond the arc while donning wine and gold.
The skill set and strengths of LeVert's game were ultimately not the most seamless around the players he needed to play with and off of. Nembhard and Sheppard, would have been a different story.
Not only that, but both of those players were involved in sending the Cavaliers home from the 2025 NBA Playoffs. Cleveland got an up close and personal look at the talents who they could have had.
In all fairness to the Cavaliers, this is more of a story about the Pacers drafting well and turning a trade lopsided through their masterful maneuvering of that process. There are far worse deals out there than this one.
Still, knowing who the draft picks turned into now should sting a fair bit. That part will be hard to ignore.