Late Thursday morning, before stepping on the court for shoot-around, Warriors players thumbed through their phones to read up on a flurry of trade-deadline moves. By that point, the Cavaliers were in the middle of a roster overhaul that could change the landscape of the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland, which has dropped 14 of its past 22 games, unloaded six players (Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, Dwyane Wade, Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose, Iman Shumpert) and a first-round pick to bring back four players (Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., Rodney Hood, George Hill). Along the way, the Cavaliers got younger and friendlier, essentially pressing reboot on a derailed season in hopes of making a fourth consecutive NBA Finals appearance and enticing LeBron James to re-sign this summer.