No. 1: Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers were as active as any team has been at the deadline in recent years. If there was a rumor floating around, the Cavaliers seemed to be a part of it. In the end, the Cavaliers completed two trades.
The first of which was with the Lakers. The acquisition of Clarkson and Nance Jr. gives Cleveland some much-needed youth, athleticism and bench production. A first-round pick could be a little much to have added to the deal, but they kept the selection that belongs to the Brooklyn Nets.
In their second deal, the Cavaliers landed George Hill and Rodney Hood. Hill gives Cleveland a battle-tested veteran to lead the show. Derrick Rose has been a disaster this season, and the Cavaliers couldn’t go the remainder of the season with Jose Calderon as their starting point guard.
Hood gives the Cavaliers another young, big bodied wing to help matchup better with teams that run smaller lineups. He can shoot with range and should fit in well with Cleveland.
The third trade they made sending Wade back to Miami saves them some money off the luxury tax.
What all these trades did for Cleveland was reset the locker room. Cleveland’s locker room seemed toxic with the team losing. They have done a total reset, shipping out six players and bringing back four.
Next: Grading The Lakers Trade With the Cavaliers
The Cavaliers got a lot younger and more athletic with these trades, and also acquired some talent under contract should LeBron James leave in free agency.