The Cleveland Cavaliers had quite a tough end to the 2016-2017 season. Despite the loss in the finals to Golden State, their All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving made his unhappiness in Cleveland known to the public; leading to an eventual trade which sent Kyrie and others to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isiah Thomas and Jae Crowder. This trade at least gave Cleveland hope for the upcoming season, the season we are now half way through.

That hope diminished nearly immediately Isiah Thomas returned from injury, two months into the season. As a result, Cleveland made another big trade nearing the trade deadline. The Cavs traded Isiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose, Channing Fry, and Iman Shumpert, all slacking players, in exchange for Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., Rodney Hood, George Hill and a future second-round pick. The players dealt by the Cavs were all struggling with their role in Cleveland, and in exchange, they got many solid role players with chips on their shoulders. Putting players like that next to LeBron James is usually a recipe for success.

After the trade was made, The Cavs faced off against the impressive Minnesota Timberwolves and eventually defeated them in a heated overtime performance. In fact, since the trade, The Cavs are 4-0. In case you think they are getting lucky, all of those wins, (besides for T-Wolves), came against a home crowd. Including an underrated Atlanta team, a stacked Oklahoma City Thunder team with three superstars, and even the Boston Celtics who were clear Eastern Conference favorites before that trade was made. We, as fans, can only sit back and watch now as we see what LeBron and the Cavs can do with this new roster and attitude.