The first big NBA trade of 2015 has occurred, as the New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers completed a three-team deal on Monday night, as noted by Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
The move shuffles six players, as Dion Waiters goes to the Thunder, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert move to the Cavs and Alex Kirk, Lou Amundson and Lance Thomas join the Knicks.
New York is also getting a 2019 second-round draft pick from the Cavs, who are receiving a first-round draft pick from the Thunder. The move will shake up some on-court performances for each team but will also help remove some potential roster problems at the same time.
Waiters was the odd man out in a Cavaliers offense that had to be divided among LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. While Waiters did not openly complain about his position with the team, he was relegated to a smaller role. At the time of the trade he was no longer starting but coming off of the bench to play with the second team
Much of the Cavaliers’ season has been swamped by stories of dysfunction, as the team has not ...
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Article written by Raphael Garcia