Things just got even easier for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The first major NBA trade of the season went down over the weekend, officially made legal on the vaunted December 15th date when newly-signed players become trade eligible. The Golden State Warriors traded for Dennis Schroder, sending back draft picks and the injured De'Anthony Melton to the Brooklyn Nets.
What does that have to do with the Cleveland Cavaliers?
The Cavaliers play the Brooklyn Nets tonight, one of their two newly added games from the NBA Cup schedule. The Nets have been a frisky team this season, winning 10 of their first 25 games; if the season ended today, Brooklyn would be in the Play-In Tournament. The Nets have wins over the Bucks, Warriors, Kings, Suns, Pacers and have defeated the Memphis Grizzlies twice. They have not been a classic pushover tanking team.
Even for a team playing as well as the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, any game could turn into a loss, especially a team like the Nets. Dennis Schroder is having perhaps the best season of his career at age 31, which is why a Warriors team with eyes on contending sought him out to add to their team.
Why did Brooklyn make the trade? Because for as encouraging as it has been for this team to notch some early wins over more-talented foes, the reality is that this organization wants to lose games this season. They are bereft of star talent and badly need to land a high lottery pick, especially in a strong draft class like 2025. They currently sit just ninth in lottery odds; they would like to finish in the bottom-4.
That's why they traded for their own first-round pick back this summer, sending out a mixture of future picks to gain their own 2025 and 2026 picks. They are aimed at maximizing their odds at landing star talent, be that Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey or another top prospect.
Trading Schroder not only makes the Nets a much worse team, but with fellow guard Cam Thomas on the shelf with a hamstring injury that will keep him out of the lineup for an indeterminate time, the Nets have very little ability to generate offense. The losses could start piling up quickly for the Nets.
Things just got easier for the Cavaliers
The Cavaliers therefore get to play the Nets at the perfect time tonight, as Schroder is gone and Thomas is out. There are still talented players on the Nets such as Cam Johnson and Nic Claxton, but the real juice of their offense is gone. The Cavs should be extreme favorites to come out with a win.
What's more, the Cavaliers still have two games on the schedule against the Nets this season. Those games went from "don't overlook these" games to showdowns with a tanking squad. As trade season progresses, the Nets should only move off of more players and get even worse.
Another positive wrinkle for the Cavaliers is that Schroder went to the Western Conference. He could have landed on the Orlando Magic, giving them some added offensive verve, or been an addition by another Eastern Conference foe. Instead, he heads West, and the Cavs won't have to face a stronger East rival in the playoffs.
For a trade that the Cavaliers are not involved in, they come out ahead in this deal. What's more, rumors around players like Jimmy Butler also are pointing him Westward, making trade season an extremely positive proposition for the Cavaliers.