James is the number one player in the NBA. Whether he leaves the Cavaliers for the Heat, returns home from the Heat, or joins the Lakers at the age of 34, every time James changes teams, it will cause shock to the league. After all, this guy is the player closest to the championship in the entire league in the past 10 years. SO, the question is, what chips did the Cavaliers get when they traded James to the Heat in 2010? Well, please listen to my explanation below.

Why did the Cavaliers trade James?

When it comes to James joining the Heat, many fans have always believed that James joined as a free agent, but in fact this is not the case. At that time, James did break out of his contract and became a free agent. However, because the Heat did not have enough salary space at the time, they needed to trade to acquire James. Moreover, for James, he could continue to hold the "Bird Clause" in this transaction, and for the Cavaliers, it would not be a waste of time to let James go. left, so the Cavaliers cooperated with the Heat in a sign-and-trade and traded James to the Heat.

What chips did the Cavaliers get by trading James?

The Cavaliers are not willing to have their full-level number poached, otherwise the fans will not burn their jerseys. Changing back and forth is the best result for the Cavaliers, and it is also the best result this time. The previous exchanges gave the Cavaliers opportunities to welcome back James.

Why do you say this? In order to get James, the Heat took out a trade exception worth $14.5 million and two future first-round and second-round picks. Among the chips obtained from trading James, the four draft picks did not play much role. On the contrary, the $14.5 million trade exception played a crucial opportunity.

After James left, the Cavaliers began to rebuild. They sent the team's Mo Buchuan and Murray to the Clippers for Baron Davis and the 2011 unprotected draft pick. This deal It can be achieved because the Cavaliers have this $14.5 million trade exception and use space to absorb Davis' contract.

Of course, Davis is not the end, because the Cavaliers were interested in his expiring contract at the time. Perhaps the Clippers did not expect that the unprotected draft pick they traded to the Cavaliers would eventually be used. It will become the No. 1 pick, and the Cavaliers also used this No. 1 pick to select Irving, paving the way for the return of James in the future.