It has been a long time coming but the Cleveland Cavaliers are finally good again.
The team has been having a lot of problems for a long time but they are currently third in the East with a record of 19-12.
This comes after years of both triumphs and tribulations, many caused by the team’s management.
Indeed, it’s been an eventful decade for the Cavs filled with far too many blunders.
Here are some of the biggest bone-headed mistakes Cleveland has made since 2010.
3. Giving Up Irving
His legacy is currently clouded by the COVID vaccine debacle he’s in the middle of but it can’t be forgotten just how great Kyrie Irving used to be for the Cavs.
Then, on August 30, 2017, Irving was sent to the Boston Celtics for point guard Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, a first-round draft pick, and two 2020 second-round picks.
Cleveland and Boston have agreement on deal to send Kyrie Irving to the Celtics for Isaiah Thomas package to Cavs, sources tell The Vertical
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 22, 2017
On paper, that trade didn’t look too bad, especially since Thomas was creating 28.9 points a game while in Boston.
Meanwhile, Crowder would finally be a Cav (more on that in a minute) and would be a terrific backup play for LeBron James.
Meanwhile, Zizic was showing promise and could have become a great center.
Yet, things didn’t work out like expected: Thomas suffered a hip injury and only shot 36 percent from the field, while Crowder wasn’t playing like himself and the first-round pick ended up being the eighth selection in the draft.
This was a prime example of the team not looking at any potential downside of a trade and only focusing on all the possible good that could come from it.
2. Briefly Landing Jae Crowder
Did you know that the Cavs actually took Crowder in the 2012 NBA Draft?
It’s true, they landed the small forward as the 34th overall pick but then they immediately sent him to the Dallas Mavericks.
As you know, he would later go on to find great success with the Celtics and, currently, the Phoenix Suns.
It was a bad move by the Cavs when they really needed a player of his caliber.
But that wasn’t the only stupid thing Cleveland did in the 2013 Draft: they also passed on Draymond Green.
1. Taking Tristan Thompson
Tristan Thompson isn’t a bad NBA player by any means but he definitely wasn’t the right pick when the Cavaliers acquired him in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Brampton native Tristan Thompson has been selected fourth overall in the NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
— CP24 (@CP24) June 24, 2011
Thompson wasn’t the star player that Cleveland had hoped for and he wasn’t showing much growth in his first season with the team.
But the Thompson selection looks even more silly when you consider all the players the Cavs passed on to land him.
Believe it or not, Cleveland decided against Jonas Valanciunas, Jimmy Butler, and Kawhi Leonard.
Again, Thompson isn’t an awful choice but when you compare him to the other names listed above, you can’t help but shake your head at Cleveland’s decision-making skills.
The history of the Cavaliers is a history filled with idiotic trades and awful draft picks.
Of course, they have seemingly gotten better with their selections lately and have cobbled together a very promising, young talented roster.
NEXT: Can The Cavaliers Reach The NBA Finals This Season?