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*Cleveland also sends their own 2018 first round pick and the Brooklyn Nets’ first round pick*
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavalier are sitting seven games back from the first seed in the Eastern Conference, and as many of you are familiar with they are not playing well at all. At first it was a defensive issue and while that has not improved in the slightest, there offense has decreased as well. Isaiah Thomas is not panning out as expected, and every player, including LeBron, is not playing at 100 percent. Cleveland blew a 21-point lead to the Orlando Magic last night , it’s clear the front office needs to and make a trade by tomorrow’s deadline. They need to commit to a future with LeBron or a future without LeBron. If they choose LeBron, the heavy 2018 Brooklyn Nets pick will need to be used as an asset to get him some new teammates. Moving that pick along with Tristan Thompson’s big contract and a lackluster Isaiah Thomas can give the Cavaliers a more energetic, and better offensive and defensive point guard in the form of Damian Lillard. There’s no proof that Lillard can make a difference to this team, but he does give them more size defensively and a much more consistent scorer than Thomas. Losing Tristan Thompson on top of the injury to Kevin Love will not be very helpful for the frontcourt, which in turn will not be beneficial for their defense but Lillard can make up for their scoring on the offensive side. It’s clear they need to do something, and it’s even more clear how little options they have and maybe this is a move that can help.