Winners and Losers of 3-Team Trade Between Cavs, Knicks and Thunder

The NBA's midseason trading frenzy continued in earnest Monday evening as the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to a three-team deal that will ship Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to Clevleland with Dion Waiters heading to the Thunder. 

Here's how the trade is set to shake out in full, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski: 

• Cleveland Receives: J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and an Oklahoma City first-round pick that's top-18 protected in 2015 and top-15 protected in 2016 and 2017 before turning into two second-round selections in 2018, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. 
• New York Receives: Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk and a 2019 second-round pick from Cleveland as well as Lance Thomas from Oklahoma City. More importantly, the Knicks save $6.4 million in raw money next season by dealing Smith and open up approximately $28 million total in cap space next summer when taxes are accounted for. The Knicks also waived center Samuel Dalembert. 
• Oklahoma City Receives: Dion Waiters

With so many high-profile moving parts and ramifications abounding from monetary and personnel standpoints, we're here to break down which teams and players emerged as winners and losers in the aftermath of the season's most complex trade to date.

Winner: New York Knicks

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It's been awhile, but the New York Knicks emerged as clear-cut winners in Wednesday's proceedings by dumping salaries in the name of financial flexibility and asset collection. 

Knicks president of basketball operations Phil Jackson explained the organization's train of thought in a statement late Monday night, according to the team's official website: 

"

As our journey moves through this season, we will search for the type of players that fit the style we hope to exhibit for our fans. Our desire is to improve our ability to compete. In addition, these transactions improve our flexibility to the current roster and the salary cap for future season.

"

In the process of dumping J.R. Smith, New York opened up a $6.4 million salary slot next season, per ShamSports.com. Given the structure of his deal, Smith has the option to opt into that generous payday for the 2015-16 campaign, a dilemma the Knicks no longer need to deal with. 

Trading Shumpert doesn't have significant monetary ramifications, considering the Knicks could have declined his $3.7 million qualifying offer and thrust him into unrestricted free agency in the summer, but in the short term it puts the Knicks in line for a few more ping-pong balls. 

New York also snagged a future second-round pick, according to Grantland's Zach Lowe, which is significant considering the Knicks are slated to owe the Houston Rockets second-rounders in 2016 and 2017, another second-round selection to the Utah Jazz in 2017 and two to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2018 and 2019, per RealGM.com.

According to The Record's Steve Popper, the selection moving from Cleveland to New York is a 2019 second- rounder. 

Although incoming bodies Lou Amundson and Alex Kirk are expected to be waived, New York was also able to create salary-cap exceptions of $6 million and $2.5 million for Smith and Shumpert, respectively, according to The Record's Steve Popper. 

As ESPN's Brian Windhorst summarized in a tweet, the Knicks will save over $20 million overall and be starting at $30 million in cap space this summer, which should allow Jackson to wheel and deal when free agency opens. 

Loser: Oklahoma City's Continuity

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Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti didn't mortgage much to obtain Dion Waiters, but he certainly went out on a limb to obtain the threat of more outside shooting. 

Theoretically, it's a nice move. Waiters fills a need. After all, the Thunder entered Monday night's contest with the Golden State Warriors ranked 26th in three-point field-goal percentage (32.6) while knocking down just 7.2 triples per night. 

But we know Waiters comes with baggage. And since the Thunder are 9-2 with Durant in the lineup, there's an inherent risk that accompanies acquiring a moody player capable of disrupting the team's locker room chemistry. 

That said, Presti exuded optimism in a statement shortly after the trade was announced, according to ESPN.com's Royce Young: 

"

Dion Waiters is a player that we’ve tracked and liked since his time at Syracuse, in the NBA, and with USA Basketball. Dion provides another proven scorer that positively impacts our roster and adds depth and flexibility. We have a lot of respect for his toughness and competitiveness, and believe that he is a physical playmaker who will enhance the versatility of our team. We are excited to welcome Dion to Oklahoma City and the Thunder organization.

"

There's also the matter of Waiters' on-court deficiencies, which have contributed to a year filled with career lows. 

His scoring average aside, Waiters is shooting a three-year low of 25.6 percent from three, including 25.4 percent on catch-and-shoot treys, according to NBA.com. What's worse is that Waiters has really only been moderately proficient when operating below the free-throw line, shooting 52.1 percent inside of 10 feet. 

And with Reggie Jackson already a solid slasher, Waiters will need to try and reform his spot-up functionality and operate as the floor spacer Oklahoma City so desperately needs. 

It's also worth noting the Cleveland Cavaliers were only 0.3 points worse per 100 possessions defensively with Waiters on the floor, while the offense was a massive 9.1 points better per 100 offensive possessions with him on the bench, per NBA.com. 

Winner: Dion Waiters

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Short-term, Dion Waiters may be a loser. With Reggie Jackson in the fold, Waiters could conceivably sacrifice minutes and touches as he learns a new offense.  

But this is about more than the 2014-15 campaign for one of the league's most enigmatic volume-scoring bench contributors. 

Consider this: Waiters is under team control for one more year beyond this season and is poised to make roughly $5.1 million next year, according to ShamSports.com. And with Jackson due a qualifying offer of $3.2 million this summer in order to be slapped with a restricted free-agent tag, per ShamSports, the Thunder could conceivably opt to not match incoming offer sheets in favor of doling out more ancillary scoring opportunities to Waiters. 

While it's admittedly speculative, Waiters would then be able to boost his value entering the summer of 2016, when he's due a qualifying offer worth $6.8 million before hitting restricted free agency. 

Oklahoma City's revolving door of sixth men remains one of the league's most perplexing personnel niches, but there's a clear area of need that can be filled if Waiters can snap out of his shooting funk with a change of scenery. 

Loser: Jeremy Lamb

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If it wasn't official before, it is now: Jeremy Lamb is a rotational afterthought for the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

Slotted behind Kevin Durant, Andre Roberson, Anthony Morrow and Perry Jones in the Thunder's perimeter pecking order, Lamb had accrued a mere six seconds of playing time over his past three games entering Monday night's clash with the Golden State Warriors. 

Now with Dion Waiters in tow, there's positively no light at the end of the tunnel for Lamb. Owner of a fairly one-dimensional offensive skill set, Lamb hasn't helped the Thunder offense thrive despite knocking down 33.8 percent of his threes to date. 

According to NBA.com, the Thunder have posted a net rating of minus-6.3 points per 100 possessions with Lamb on the floor this season. 

A mid-range liability (33.3 percent from said distance, per NBA.com) and subpar corner marksman (30 percent), Lamb figures to function as a spectator during Oklahoma City's playoff push assuming the Thunder don't encounter a slew of injuries. 

Winner: Cleveland Cavaliers

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The Cleveland Cavaliers didn't acquire the rim protector they've been prognosticated to obtain for weeks now, but they filled two crucial needs. 

One could make the argument that the Cavaliers simply replaced the maddening styles of Dion Waiters with those of J.R. Smith, but the fact of the matter is Smith has displayed far more spot-up and catch-and-shoot competency from beyond the arc this season. 

For all of its prosperous ball movement (No. 10 overall in assists), Cleveland simply hasn't been able to execute from three-point range. And in that regard, Smith's ability to catch fire in short spurts should help tremendously. 

But more on that in a moment. 

General manager David Griffin also addressed another lackluster area by acquiring perimeter stopper Iman Shumpert. 

Although Shumpert remains sidelined with a dislocated shoulder, New York Knicks head coach Derek Fisher reiterated that the flat-topped swingman is close to a return, according to MSG Network's Alan Hahn. 

Not only are the Cavaliers allowing opponents to shoot better than 35 percent from deep (No. 17 overall), but opponents have gashed them to the tune of 36.7 percent shooting from deep over the last three games sans LeBron James, per TeamRankings.com.  

After the Knicks posted a net differential of plus-9.3 points per 100 defensive possessions with Shumpert roaming around the wing last season, per NBA.com, Cleveland did well to make a low-risk move for a quality defender who's set to hit restricted free agency this summer. 

To cap things off, the Cavaliers snagged a first-round pick from Oklahoma City that's top-18 protected in 2015, top-15 protected in 2016 and 2017 and then becomes two second-round picks if it isn't credited before 2018, according to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst. 

Winner: J.R. Smith

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On the surface, it's easy to judge J.R. Smith and assume he's just an older, more seasoned version of Dion Waiters. 

Numbers tell a different story, though. 

Although the narrative that's engulfed Smith's tenure in the Association revolves around his propensity to chuck the ball, he's actually quite effective as a spot-up shooter, as the past two seasons have demonstrated. 

As Bleacher Report's Dan Favale tweeted, "JR Smith shot 46.5% on spot-up 3s last season, and is at 38.3% in 2014-15. He fits with Cavs."

With those numbers in mind, Smith is actually a logical addition for a Cleveland team that's encountered its fair share of tactical strife during David Blatt's first season on the bench. 

Although Cleveland grades out among the league's top 12 in offensive efficiency, the Cavaliers rank 21st in catch-and-shoot conversion rate from beyond the arc (36.0), according to NBA.com. 

On a team where LeBron James and Kyrie Irving are doing the majority of the ball-handling (when healthy), Smith should be thrilled that he'll be able to accentuate his strengths with a flawed yet inevitably playoff-bound franchise. 

A $533,135 trade bonus to pad his bank account with isn't so bad either, according to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst.