The Cleveland Cavaliers have gotten off to a red hot start that has Donovan Mitchell as one of the early frontrunners for the league MVP award, particularly after his game winner on Saturday evening on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Cavs are currently one of just two undefeated teams remaining (Oklahoma City Thunder) after starting the season 7-0, and the team is looking to usher in its first real era of prosperity since the second LeBron James stint ended in 2018.
Speaking of that LeBron James era, two of the key pieces on those mid-2010’s Cavs teams were guards JR Smith and Iman Shumpert, each of whom was brought in from the New York Knicks via trade during the 2014-15 season. Now, Smith is recalling why Shumpert was initially hesitant to embrace the trade, via the Nightcap Show with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco Johnson.
“We had a private flight to go to Cleveland the next day. I’m sitting there with Shump, and Shump was like ‘damn, they don’t believe in us?’… I said, Shump, listen, I don’t know what you’re talking about bro, but pipe that s*** down. We’re about to go win the ship… just relax, just let it happen.'”
The Cavs were struggling (at least relative to their sky high expectations with the big three of James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love) around the time they traded for Shumpert and Smith, but that acquisition allowed the team to turn around their season and ride that momentum all the way the NBA Finals, where they bowed out to the Golden State Warriors in six games in a series that both Love and Irving missed the majority of.
The following year, the Cavs would secure the number one seed in the Eastern Conference and once again bulldoze to the Finals, where they knocked off the Warriors after overcoming a 3-1 deficit. Both Shumpert and Smith played a critical role in that playoff run, as well as the Cavs’ next march to the Finals the following season.
The Cavs now are looking to create the franchise’s first real run of prosperity without LeBron James on the roster, and Donovan Mitchell reiterated his commitment to doing so by resigning with the team this past offseason on a massive contract extension.
Still, it’s always nice to reminisce about the glory days of yesteryear in which both Smith and Shumpert were torching opposing defenses.
