Dion Waiters to Thunder: Latest Trade Details, Comments and Reaction

Looking for a spark to get the team back into contention for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers have reportedly traded Dion Waiters to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a three-way deal.

According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, the Knicks are also involved, with Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith leaving New York for Cleveland:

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have reached an agreement in principle to acquire New York Knicks guards J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert in a multi-team trade that also sends guard Dion Waiters to the Oklahoma City Thunder, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Oklahoma City will give the Cavaliers a protected future first-round draft pick and send guard Lance Thomas to the Knicks, league sources said. As part of the trade, the Cavaliers will send rookie center Alex Kirk, forward Lou Amundson and a 2019 second-round pick to the Knicks, sources said.

For New York, the deal is a salary dump to clear cap space. The Knicks unload the $6.4 million owed to Smith next season.

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The Cavs later confirmed the trade, and G.M. David Griffin talked about parting ways with Waiters:

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We wish Dion the best as he continues his career with the Thunder and thank him for his effort and work here with the Cavaliers. Dion is a talented player with potential ahead of him. Trades like this are always difficult to make because there are relationships and bonds built and that was the case with Dion.

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Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com tweeted how the trade couldn't have come at a worse time for Waiters:

Thunder star Kevin Durant talked about the move on Monday night, according to ESPN's Marc Stein:

This move comes shortly after Griffin spoke to the media following Cleveland's loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. Among other topics, Griffin discussed the team's attempts to find a potential trade partner, per Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group:

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We're very actively working the phones and doing everything we can to improve the team. At the same time, unfortunately our timing doesn't always match the timing of everybody else. Until the trade deadline, people typically don't have a lot of reason to do anything in a specific time. So we're doing what we can and certainly working every angle we can. This ownership group has always been one to turn over every stone and this is no different.

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Waiters was viewed as one of the Cavaliers' more attractive assets in any sort of trade. Head coach David Blatt moved Waiters to the bench this year, where he's put up 10.5 points a game after averaging 15.9 as a spot-starter last season.

Sam Amico of Fox Sports reports that Waiters may have clashed with Cavaliers coach David Blatt over his role:

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reported that Waiters will also be coming off the bench in Oklahoma City but that he'll likely see more minutes than Andre Roberson:

ESPN's Royce Young questioned whether the Thunder needed another 2-guard; however, he felt that the team still got the better end of the deal:

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Adding Waiters is fairly redundant with Jeremy Lamb (who makes $2.2 million this season). Can OKC get a first rounder in exchange for him?

— Royce Young (@royceyoung) January 6, 2015"

Waiters is a streaky shooter who runs hot and cold from night to night. It will be interesting to see how well he meshes with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook after he struggled to form a strong partnership with Kyrie Irving throughout his time in Cleveland.  

From a Cleveland perspective, this trade is rather quizzical because the team is essentially trading Waiters for an older, more expensive version of himself. Smith is averaging 10.9 points a game this year on 40.2 percent shooting.

The 29-year-old is perhaps the ultimate "false confidence" guy. How he'll jell with Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love could decide the Cavs' season. Cleveland needs somebody who can come off the bench and deliver instant offense.

Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix is a bit skeptical as to how the Cavaliers will end up being helped here:

At his best, Smith could do exactly that. At his worst, he'll be even more detrimental to the team's chemistry than Waiters was.

On Tuesday, Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported that "team officials spoke with LeBron James about his willingness to play alongside Smith before executing the deal, sources said."

Getting Shumpert in the deal should really help Cleveland. Although the 24-year-old isn't a dead-eye shooter, he's capable of pouring in 10-15 points on any given night. More importantly, Shumpert strengthens the Cavaliers defensively on the perimeter.

As NBA.com's John Schuhmann tweeted, Shumpert was one of the few Knicks players who contributed on both ends of the floor:

Griffin also commented on acquiring Smith and Shumpert: "We’re very excited to welcome Iman and J.R. to Cleveland. With their size and versatility, we think both Iman and J.R. can help our team on both ends of the court and we look forward to them joining us."

Fans in New York are likely disappointed the team didn't get anything tangible in return for Shumpert. Bleacher Report's Howard Beck countered that it didn't have any other choice if it wanted to trade Smith as well:

The Cavaliers have the most to lose and consequently the most to gain in this trade. Griffin will either end up looking like a genius or receive the majority of the blame for an early playoff exit.