Channing Frye – 9 games in 2017-18
Channing Frye had a long career as a role player in the NBA and was part of the Cleveland Cavaliers 2016 title-winning team. The Cavaliers traded for Frye during the 2015-16 season and while he did not have a massive role in Cleveland, he was part of two NBA Finals teams where he played playoff minutes.
Many NBA fans probably assume that Frye’s career ended in Cleveland as the team went from a contender to a lottery team once LeBron left. While Frye did play his last games as a Cavalier during the 2018-19 season, it was after he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers the year prior.
Frye was included in the trade that landed Isaiah Thomas on the Lakers. This trade is hugely important in franchise history and often gets overlooked, not because of Thomas, but because of what it opened up.
LeBron was looking for fresh blood to win a title with the Cavaliers in 2018 and got both Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. from the Lakers. Whether intentionally or not by the Cavaliers, this also opened up the salary cap space for the team to comfortably sign LeBron that following offseason as they traded for expiring contracts.
Many remember Thomas’ short stint with the Lakers following that trade and completely forgot that Frye was involved as well. Frye was injured at the time of the trade and played just nine games with the Lakers to close out the season.