The Cleveland Cavaliers have participated in what can only be called a fire sale at the trade deadline. Basically everyone not named LeBron James was traded away for a host of younger and more athletic players.
The moves the Cavaliers made seemed to be in an attempt to fix the chemistry in the Cavaliers locker room, which had quickly deteriorated in recent weeks. With the losing the Cavaliers endured, James was asked if he had so unhappy that he would possibly think about waiving his no-trade clause.
James answered with an emphatic “no.” Furthermore, the organization never approached James to ask about him waiving the clause, per Chris Haynes of ESPN.
This was the right move for the Cavaliers front office. When you have a player like James, you want to be able to keep him happy by any means necessary.
With all the trades the Cavaliers made on Thursday, James cannot say the organization is standing pat and just accepting the losing that is going on. The team made a decision to trade most of their rotation players and get guys in there that are less likely to clash with James.
The team wants to win a championship, and it became increasingly clear that goal would not happen with the roster as currently constructed. The organization decided to put the players it felt would work better with James, and not even entertain trading their franchise player.
Now the onus is on James. Will he stay in Cleveland or leave in free agency? In some ways, the Cavaliers may be looking to call his bluff.