Cleveland Cavalier Trade: Dion Waiters headed to Oklahoma City

The Cleveland Cavaliers have completed a three-way trade with Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks involving six players.

The blockbuster agreement will send guards J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert from the Knicks to the Cavaliers. Dion Waiters will leave Cleveland and head to the Thunder in exchange for a protected future first-round pick.

The Knicks will acquire Lance Thomas from the Thunder as well as Alex Kirk and Lou Amoundson from the Cavaliers. The Knicks also received a 2019 second-round draft pick from the Cavaliers. The two sources added, according to USA Today Sports, that the Knicks plan to waive Samuel Dalembert.

In this trade, all parties got what they needed. With Smith and Shumpert, the Cavaliers added scoring and defense on the perimeter. Smith averaged 10.9 points with 3.4 assists in 25.8 minutes. Shumpert shows great promise but has been sidelined due to injuries.

Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick with USA Today Sports detailed the up side of this trade for the Cavaliers. They wrote:

"Cleveland needs backcourt and frontcourt help, and it decided to address the backcourt with this trade. The Cavs needed more than Matthew Dellavedova, Joe Harris and A.J. Price off the bench. James, who is out at least another week with knee and lower back strains, has wanted perimeter help, and he could get it with the addition of Smith and Shumpert, offensively and defensively."

The Cavaliers who are fifth in the Eastern Conference still need to add depth in the frontcourt after losing Anderson Varejao to a season-ending injury (torn Achilles).

For the 5-32 Knicks, letting these two players go allowed them to shed salaries. Smith was due to make $6.39 million and Shumpert is owed $3.65 million next season. The Knicks' salary and luxury tax bill dropped by almost $20 million from this trade. The Knicks will also have $35 million in salary cap space to use this summer.

"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," Phil Jackson said in a statement. "In addition, these transactions improve our flexibility to the current roster and the salary cap for future seasons."

Over the next two years, the Thunder could lose two of their top players. Guard Reggie Jackson will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season and Kevin Durant will become a free agent at the end of next season. By adding Waiters, who has great potential, the Thunder hope to remain one of the top teams in the West.

"Dion Waiters is a player that we've tracked and liked since his time at Syracuse, in the NBA, and with USA Basketball," Oklahoma City General Manager Sam Presti said in a statement. "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."

Waiters was the fourth overall pick in 2012. Waiters is averaging 10.5 points in 23.8 minutes.