CLEVELAND, Ohio — There’s an argument to be made that the Cleveland Cavaliers never should have traded Kyrie Irving, who sent a reminder of his brilliance this week with 75 points in two combined games against his old team Wednesday and Friday.
The Cavs should have called his bluff, let him undergo the threatened knee surgery and accepted the nagging headaches and potential chemistry issues that often come with a disgruntled star who was not only checked out mentally but didn’t want to play another second with teammate LeBron James. The revamped front office could’ve banked on winning as the remedy for the combustible setup. Could have held onto the hope that moody Irving would’ve snapped out of his funk in time for the Cavs to chase one final championship. The last hurrah.
Someone else can make that argument.
The Cavs — who moved their record to 8-7 Friday after beating Irving’s high-powered and title-hopeful Brooklyn Nets for the second time in three nights — aren’t where they are today without the gutsy deal that was once considered a lopsided laugher. Turns out, it was lopsided. Still is. Just not the way most originally believed.
The showpiece of that 2017 summer blockbuster that sent Irving to Boston — and gave him the chance to be the “focal point” — was Collin Sexton. Well, technically the “Brooklyn pick” that the Celtics were clutching tight. Many around the league didn’t think the Cavs could pry it away. It was expected to be a golden ticket to one of the top spots in the 2018 NBA Draft before the Nets went on a Spencer Dinwiddie-led surge at the end of the season, causing the Cavs to drop to eighth. No Luka Doncic. No Trae Young. No Deandre Ayton. Not even Jaren Jackson Jr.
The Cavs ended up with Sexton, now the cultural backbone and cornerstone of this rebuild. Sexton, alone, helps twist the perception of the maligned Irving trade.
One game after Sexton’s career night — causing everyone around the league to take notice with a 42-point masterpiece, outdueling Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden — the 22-year-old guard poured in 25 points to go with nine assists in the 125-113 win.
It’s Sexton’s 14th straight game with at least 20 points — a streak that goes back to the 2019-20 season. He became the first player in Cavs history to open a season with 20-plus points in his first 10 games. He keeps reaching franchise marks that put him in the company of James and Irving.
This is becoming an every-night occurrence, with glimmers of star potential that go back to last December, when Sexton began his launch as one of the Eastern Conference’s best.
His backcourt mate, Darius Garland, who returned from an eight-game absence because of a sprained right shoulder Friday, cast an early vote for his buddy to get some All-Star recognition.
“He deserves it,” Garland said while nodding his head. “He comes in every night with the mindset that you can’t stop him. And that’s what he shows the league, that’s what he shows the world and everybody that’s watching this basketball game. He’s getting wherever he wants. Getting teammates involved. I mean, a lot of people don’t do that. When you come off a 42-point game, you expect them to probably go for another 40-ball. He’s still getting his buckets, but he’s making everybody else better around him. That’s what I love about Bull right now. He’s just locked in. He wants to win. We all want to win. We’re all behind him.”
In his third season, typically when youngsters make “the leap,” Sexton is averaging 26.8 points on 52.3% from the field and 46.8% from 3-point range to go with 4.2 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals. His scoring average would rank 10th, tied with MVP candidate Doncic, if Sexton had enough games to qualify.
A low-maintenance player who embodies the Cavaliers credo is a heck of a starting point when reassessing the Irving trade.
The Cavs also received Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and broken-down Isaiah Thomas. Not great — until you start tracking further.
Without Thomas, there’s no Larry Nance Jr. The Cavs acquired Nance from the Los Angeles Lakers along with Jordan Clarkson midway through the 2017-18 season. It cost Thomas, Channing Frye and a first-round pick. Thomas’ salary number allowed the Lakers to dump Clarkson — a sticking point for them to give up budding Nance.
Now in his third full season with the Cavs — and sixth overall — Nance is a key piece of this nucleus. He’s the do-everything forward in the midst of a career year, averaging 11.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.4 steals.
An analytical darling, some of Cleveland’s tracking metrics point to him being one of the team’s most impactful players. Nance, who is under contract through the 2022-23 season, has a developing 3-point shot, hitting 42.9% from beyond the arc this season. He also looks more comfortable as a playmaker, a role he was never granted in Los Angeles. But the other end is where he shines, taking pride in his on-off rating and always peering at plus-minus. Integral to the team’s defensive turnaround, Nance is leading the league in steals and ranks sixth in defensive win shares.
“There isn’t anyone who personifies the type of person we want in this organization more than Larry,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He continues to be the motor that helps this thing keep churning on both ends of the ball.”
Crowder didn’t mesh well in Cleveland. He was flipped in a three-team deal with the Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings. The Cavs received George Hill and Rodney Hood.
About a year later, with Cleveland shifting its priorities, Hill was sent to the Milwaukee Bucks for John Henson, Matthew Dellavedova and a future first-round pick. Without Crowder and his valuable contract — a secondary reason the Cavs targeted him in the Irving deal — they don’t get Hill. Without Hill, the Cavs don’t have Andre Drummond and Jarrett Allen.
This past February, the Cavs used Henson’s expiring contract along with Brandon Knight to get Drummond, giving the Detroit Pistons salary relief they needed to rejigger the roster. Going back to last season, the Cavs are 11-11 with Drummond in the lineup, much more competitive than when he arrived.
Drummond can get out of control every now and then. Bickerstaff went a different direction to close Wednesday’s game. But Drummond rebounded Friday, recording another double-double with 19 points and 16 boards. The two-time All-Star has been a force at both ends, bullying opponents around the rim and anchoring the team’s defense the way he promised.
“The potential for this team is endless,” Drummond said. “We have all the tools to be a great team. There’s no reason why we can’t beat the best teams in the NBA. We have the heart, we have the drive.
“When I got here, my message to these guys was, we should never be afraid of anybody, we don’t care who’s on the court. It could be Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Doesn’t matter. We’re gonna play them the same way each and every night, we’re going to stick to our scheme and what works for us. We don’t want any cute games. Want to make it as ugly as possible and may the better team win. Night in and night out, it ends up being us.”
That first-rounder from the Bucks was the linchpin of last week’s Allen theft. The Nets didn’t want to part with the up-and-coming center. They shopped sharpshooter Landry Shamet instead, hoping he could fetch the final first-round pick the Nets needed to land Harden. When those attempts failed, they reached out to the Cavs who were delighted to jump in the deal.
Cleveland also got Taurean Prince, who looks to be much more than a throw-in piece. While the Cavs need to pay Allen, a restricted free agent this summer, they believe he’s the long-term answer in the middle — a 22-year-old shot-blocking pick-and-roll partner for Sexton and Garland.
Back to Clarkson for a minute. He was sent to Utah last December for Dante Exum and two second-round picks. The Cavs also got a trade exception. Not only did Clarkson’s departure coincide with Sexton’s rise, but it brought Exum, who was used in the Harden blockbuster — the salary needed to match Prince. The trade exception allowed the Cavs to absorb Allen’s contract.
Hood was tossed to Portland nearly two years ago in a package that included Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin and two future second-round picks.
Trading is a lengthy, complex game of chess. It’s not just one move, but rather a series of them that require short- and long-term thinking.
Cleveland’s rebuild plan — jumpstarted by Irving’s trade demand — has started to come into focus. Because of that one move, and a string of others that spawned from it, the Cavs now have Sexton, Nance, Drummond, Allen, Prince and more draft capital to potentially use in future deals.
Checkmate.
Irving, meanwhile, had two frustrating years in Boston and bolted on bad terms. He’s in Brooklyn now, hoping the Harden addition will allow the Nets to rise to the top of the league. Irving’s greatness can’t be argued. The Cavs honored him in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game, as Irving saluted the crowd and pointed to his ring finger — a recognition of the role this organization played in him becoming a champion.
The hatred has quelled. The Cavs have moved on. They’re in a good place, one of the NBA’s surprise teams in the first month, with a bright future and an exciting young core. There’s hope again. It wouldn’t have been possible without the Irving trade more than three years ago.
Lopsided indeed. In Cleveland’s favor.
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