CLEVELAND -- He's no longer the team's general manager, but David Griffin remains impressed with the Cleveland Cavaliers' NBA trade deadline deals nonetheless.
After his former employer made a series of trades on Thursday to transform its roster, Griffin took to Twitter to weigh in on the transactions. Quoting a tweet posted by ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks, Griffin took issue with the notion that his replacement, Koby Altman, is in over his head, before praising the Cavs for their trio of trades.
Griffin also shared his analysis of the Cavs' moves during an appearance on NBA TV.
Griffin, who served as Cleveland's general manager from 2014-17, is no stranger to deadline deals. Three years ago, he acquired J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov in the weeks leading up the deadline and in 2016, he acquired Channing Frye on the day of the deadline.
None of those trades, however, were as transformative as the moves Altman made on Thursday. In total, the Cavs traded away six players and brought back four in what was ultimately three deadline deals, including:
- Sending Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and a top-3 protected 2018 first-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers for Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson.
- A three-way deal with the Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings, in which the Cavs acquired Rodney Hood and George Hill and sent out Iman Shumpert, Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose.
- Sending veteran guard Dwyane Wade to the Miami Heat for a heavily protected second-round pick.
Time will tell whether or not Altman's moves will pay off for the Cavs. But at the very least, his former boss -- and the man he replaced -- approves.
