Evaluating the Cleveland Cavaliers Actions at the Trade Deadline
The Cavs shortened the runway, but they've got a plane capable of flying.
MY OFFICE — The last week has been a difficult whirlwind for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They’ve said goodbye to a former franchise cornerstone and hello to a former NBA MVP with the hopes that can make the Cavs more likely to win a championship right now, even if it may decrease the chance they win one in the future.
When Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman told Darius Garland that he was being traded to the LA Clippers, he said it was an emotional moment that made him teary-eyed. It was the moment that slammed the door shut on the Core Four era in Cleveland. It was also the moment that the Cavs believe they pushed their ceiling to winning a championship this season. If that weren’t the case, they wouldn’t have made the move.
“We made a monumental trade to land James Harden. We think that he raises our ceiling and gives us a chance to have real playoff success,” Altman said.
Because this move was one that the Cavs feel can give them a better chance at hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June, this was what Altman felt was the appropriate time to press down on the accelerator in a drastic way and dismantle the Core Four. It was a move that required careful thought and consideration.
