CLEVELAND, Ohio – There is an argument to be made that the Cleveland Cavaliers should never have exchanged Kyrie Irving, who on Wednesday and Friday sent a reminder of his brilliance with 75 points in two joint games against his old team.
The Cavs should have called his bluff, had him undergo the threatened knee surgery and accepted the nagging headache and possible chemical problems often accompanied by a disgruntled star who was not only mentally watched but did not want another second with teammate LeBron do not play. James. The refurbished front office could win to make the win as the solution to the flammable setup. Could have held on to the hope that moody Irving would have cut out of his funk in time for the Cavs to chase one final championship. The last hurray.
Someone else can make the argument.
The Cavs – who moved their record to 8-7 Friday after beating Irving’s strong and title-hoping Brooklyn Nets for the second time in three nights – are not where they are today without the gutsy deal that once seemed like a twist laughter. It turns out it was skewed. Still. Just not as most originally believed.
The showpiece of the 2017 summer film that Irving sent to Boston – and gave him the chance to be the “focal point” – was Collin Sexton. Well, technically speaking, the “Brooklyn pick” that the Celtics held tight. Many in the league did not think the Cavs could break it away. It was expected to be a golden ticket for one of the top draws in the 2018 NBA draft before the Nets had a boom at the end of the season led by Spencer Dinwiddie, dropping the Cavs to eighth. . No Luka Doncic. No Trae Young. No DeAndre Ayton. Not even Years Jackson Jr.
The Cavs end up at Sexton, now the cultural backbone and cornerstone of this rebuild. Sexton alone helps to distort the perception of the malicious Irving trade.
One game after Sexton’s career night – which caused everyone in the league to take notice of a 42-point championship, surpassing Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden – gave the 22-year-old guard 25 points to throw in with nine assistants go. the victory of 125-113.
This is Sexton’s 14th consecutive game with at least 20 points – a series that returns to the 2019-20 season. He became the first player in Cavs history to open a season with 20-plus points in his first ten games. He still achieves franchise brands that put him in the company of James and Irving.
It becomes a phenomenon every night, with glittering star potential going back to December last year, when Sexton began its launch as one of the best in the Eastern Conference.
His full-back, Darius Garland, who returned from an eight-match right-back due to a sprained right shoulder on Friday, voted his buddy early to get an All-Star recognition.
“He deserves it,” Garland said, nodding his head. “He comes in every night with the attitude that you can not stop him. And that’s what he shows the league, that’s what he shows the world and everyone who watches this basketball game. He gets where he wants. Get teammates involved. I mean, a lot of people do not. If you come off a 42-point game, you expect them to probably take another 40-ball. He still gets his buckets, but he makes everyone around him better. This is what I like about Bull now. He’s just locked up. He wants to win. We all want to win. We are all behind him. ”
In his third season, usually when youngsters ‘make the jump’, Sexton averages 26.8 points on 52.3% from the field and 46.8% from the three-point series with 4.2 assistants, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals. His points average will be tenth place, equal to MVP candidate Doncic, if Sexton has enough matches to qualify.
A low-maintenance player embodying the Cavaliers credo is a starting point for reevaluating the Irving trade.
The Cavs also received Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the broken down Isaiah Thomas. Not great – until you start tracking down.
Without Thomas, there is no Larry Nance Jr. The Cavs acquired Nance halfway through the 2017-18 season alongside Jordan Clarkson of the Los Angeles Lakers. It cost Thomas, Channing Frye and a first round. Thomas’ salary number enabled the Lakers to dump Clarkson – a fixed point for them to give up the budding Nance.
Now in his third full season with the Cavs – and sixth overall – Nance is an important part of this core. He is the forward to do in the middle of a career year, averaging 11.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.4 steals.
Some of Cleveland’s tracking stats are an analytical darling and suggest he’s one of the team’s most influential players. Nance, who is under contract through the 2022-23 season, has an evolving three-point shot, hitting 42.9% from outside the arc this season. He also looks more comfortable as a playmaker, a role he has never been assigned in Los Angeles. But the other side is where he shines, is proud of his on-off rating and always looks for plus or minus. Nance is an integral part of the team’s defensive turnaround, leading the league in stealing and occupying sixth place in the defense.
“There’s no one who personifies the type of person we want in this organization more than Larry,” Cavs head coach JB Bickerstaff said. “He’s still the car that makes this thing fold on both sides of the ball.”
Crowder did not fit in well in Cleveland. He was reversed in a three-team deal with the Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings. The Cavs host George Hill and Rodney Hood.
About a year later, as Cleveland changed its priorities, Hill was sent to the Milwaukee Bucks for John Henson, Matthew Dellavedova and a future first-round pick. Without Crowder and his valuable contract – a secondary reason the Cavs targeted him in the Irving deal – they would not get Hill. Without Hill, the Cavs do not have Andre Drummond and Jarrett Allen.
This past February, the Cavs teamed up with Brandon Knight to use Henson’s expiring contract to get Drummond, who gave the Detroit Pistons salary relief to reject the roster. If we go back to last season, the Cavs are 11-11 with Drummond in the series, much more competitive than when he got there.
Drummond can get out of control every now and then. Bickerstaff took a different direction to end Wednesday’s game. But Drummond jumped back on Friday and scored another double double with 19 points and 16 boards. The two-time All-Star was a force on both sides, bullying opponents around the edge and anchoring the team’s defense as he promised.
“The potential for this team is endless,” Drummond said. “We have all the tools to be a good team. There’s no reason why we can not beat the best teams in the NBA. We have the heart, we have the driving force.
‘When I got here, my message to these guys was: we should never be afraid of anyone, we can not care who’s in court. It could be Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Does not matter. We play it the same way every night, we stick to our schedule and what works for us. We do not want any cute games. Do you want to make it as ugly as possible and may the better team win. Night in and night out, it’s finally us. ‘
The Bucks’ first time was at the heart of last week’s Allen theft. The Nets did not want to separate from the emerging center. They rather bought sniper Landry Shamet, hoping he could make the final first lap the Nets needed to land Harden. When these efforts failed, they reached out to the Cavs who were delighted to tackle the deal.
Cleveland also got Taurean Prince, which looks like it’s much more than a toss. While the Cavs have to pay this summer, a limited free agent, they believe he is the long-term answer in the middle – a 22-year-old shooting block partner for Sexton and Garland.
Back for a minute back to Clarkson. He was sent to Utah last December for Dante Exum and two second-round picks. The Cavs also got a trade exception. Not only did Clarkson’s departure coincide with Sexton’s rise, but it also brought Exum, used in the Harden campaign – the salary needed to match Prince. The trade exception allowed the Cavs to accept Allen’s contract.
Hood was thrown to Portland almost two years ago in a package that included Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin and two future picks in the second round.
Trading is a long, complex game of chess. This is not just one step, but rather a series that requires short- and long-term thinking.
Cleveland’s rebuilding plan – which began with Irving’s trade demand – began to focus. Due to the one move and a number of others that resulted from it, the Cavs now have Sexton, Nance, Drummond, Allen, Prince and more draft capital to possibly use in future deals.
Chess mat.
Irving, meanwhile, had two frustrating years in Boston and was stuck on bad terms. He’s in Brooklyn now and hopes the addition of Harden will enable the Nets to rise to the top of the league. Irving’s greatness can not be argued. The Cavs honored him in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game, while Irving saluted the crowd and pointed to his ring finger – a recognition of the role this organization played in becoming a champion.
The hatred became quiet. The Cavs moved on. They are in a great spot, one of the NBA’s surprise teams in the first month, with a bright future and an exciting young core. There is hope again. This would not have been possible more than three years ago without the Irving trade.
Indeed skewed. In Cleveland’s guns.
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