The Cleveland Cavaliers are not getting much respect with the online bookmaker after LeBron James left but the Cavaliers did make a move on Monday that should help them for next season.
The Cavaliers traded away Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Ramon Sessions, Ryan Hollins and a second-round pick. Cleveland is still a long shot in NBA offshore betting but Monday’s trade could be a step in the right direction.
Online bookmaker odds list Cleveland as one of the longest shots on the board to win next season’s NBA title. Not many people believe the Cavaliers will be any good without LeBron. The Cavaliers are in rebuilding mode now and getting rid of West and Telfair was a good first step. West was capable of being a good player at times but his off the court troubles were way too much to deal with. Minnesota has said they are going to immediately cut him.
Cleveland is getting Ramon Sessions and he averaged 8.2 points on 45.6 percent shooting last season while playing just over 21 minutes per game. He had signed a four-year, $16 million deal with Minnesota before last season. He is a close friend to Cleveland guard Mo Williams so they should be a good backcourt combo. The Cavaliers also like the addition of Hollins. He is a very talented forward/center who averaged 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds last year in limited playing time. Both Sessions and Hollins should provide solid building blocks for the Cavaliers. Two other positives came out of the trade for Cleveland. They get rid of West who pleaded guilty in Maryland earlier this month to weapons charges. The Cavaliers also get a future second round pick out of the deal.
Minnesota made the deal mainly for salary cap purposes and because they had no room for either Sessions or Hollins. The Wolves have a crowded backcourt already with Johnny Flynn and Luke Ridnour and in the frontcourt they have Michael Beasley, Darko Milicic and Nikola Pekovic. There was no room for Sessions or Hollins to get enough minutes. The trade doesn’t help Minnesota at all this season in offshore betting since they are going to cut West and Telfair but it does free up salary cap space for future seasons.