Opinion: The Cavaliers should trade Lebron James
June 21, 2017
Oh yeah, I just went there.
While many of you fine readers have come to expect such facetious and tongue in cheek statements, this one is not. I fully stand by this statement and I’m sure I won’t regret it at any point later on.
Let’s get the boring crap out of the way so I can start my rant; we all know that’s why you folks read these things.
Anyway, Cavs owner and marbles-for-brains imbecile Dan Gilbert decided not to renew general manager David Griffin’s contract, who helped construct this current team and helped lead them to three straight Finals appearances during his tenure as GM.
Griffin had allegedly been in the process of conducting a trade for Bulls forward Jimmy Butler to bring him to Cleveland but the deal has since gone cold, largely thanks to Gilbert’s self-destructive meddling of his own team’s future.
Gilbert, who has failed to renew any GM’s contract during his 12 years as owner, apparently didn’t see eye-to-eye with Griffin on where the team is headed in the future. James, whom we all know is the real GM and decision-maker for this team’s personnel, voiced his support for Griffin on Twitter after the news broke that he would not return.
In true dope-headed fashion, Gilbert didn’t even consult his best player on whether or not Griffin should return, adding another chink in the armor to his and James’ already unstable relationship.
And so, here we are, with James set to be a free agent after next season and no signs of the team improving its roster, which desperately needs to happen if they want any chance of beating Golden State next year (they have zero chance).
So instead of all this “trade Kevin Love talk for another star” (won’t happen) or even the murmurs that Kyrie Irving could be on the move (probably not a great idea) I know what must be done to save Cleveland from itself and keep the franchise competitive for the next few years.
They need to trade Lebron James. And they need to do it right away.
It’s been highly speculated that passive-aggressive, whiny baby James will likely not end his career in Cleveland.”‘But it’s his home?! He’d never leave again!” you say.
Yeah, I’m not buying that crap for a second. He came back and did what he promised to do by bringing Cleveland its title, even if it’s watered down in terms of his legacy (God, I’m really reaching here) because he already grabbed a pair of titles in Miami.
Now that he’s vindicated himself by and large for most Cleveland fans, it sets up perfectly for him to ditch town one final time, with the championship he brought as his trump card for any bitterness if he leaves once more.
The whole aspect of trading him is obvious: if he walks in free agency, the Cavs get nothing in return. If you trade him, well, a king’s ransom would await you. It’d be the NBA equivalent to the Edmonton Oilers trading NHL great Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles in the late 80s.
James has, at best, three more years of sustaining his current playing ability. Trade him now and you could likely get a major piece to coexist with Irving. You could keep Love around as well because he really is a solid player and has had to sacrifice more on this team than anyone and you could do it all while stockpiling draft picks for the future.
The league belongs to Golden State for the coming years and as (brace yourself for strong language) Michael Rapaport hilariously noted, James is the reason this super team exists. Don’t tell me otherwise.
His time as the best player in the world is coming to a close. The irony in all this is that had the Cavs not traded number one overall pick Andrew Wiggins for Love (which I said at the time was beyond stupid) they would be better suited to take on Golden State and keep James long-term.
But they didn’t do that. And reality is setting in.
It’s going to hurt again, Cavs fans. Not as much as the first time, but it will. Right now, I’m like Robin Williams at the end of Good Will Hunting and you’re all Matt Damon. “It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.” Such a great movie, gets the waterworks going every time.
Cut Deron Williams, Kyle Korver, Richard Jefferson and cut that bum JR Smith too because he is beyond overrated.
Trade James to Los Angeles. Let him lose to Golden State in the second round or conference finals for the remaining years of his career while the Cavs can attempt to build a young core with Irving and whoever else comes along as the nucleus.
You got your one title. Even if it could have been more, you still saw the pinnacle at least once, which is much more than I can say for any of my teams.
I know it hurts, baby, but we had our run.
Know this (Darth Vader voice): it’s not going to end well after this season if he stays. Hedge your bet now and build toward the future. It’s like the rich guy who leaves his wife for the younger version of her. Okay, it’s not really like that.
But realize that the time to trade the best basketball player is now and you’d better do so before you get burned once more.
Matt Poe is a columnist, contact him at [email protected].