By james art 
The Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a red-hot start, making Donovan Mitchell one of the early favorites for the league MVP award, especially after his game-winning performance Saturday night on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Cavs are currently one of only two remaining undefeated teams (Oklahoma City Thunder) after starting the season 7-0, and the team is looking to usher in its first true era of prosperity since LeBron James’ second stint ended in 2018.
Speaking of the LeBron James era, two of the key pieces on those mid-2010 Cavs teams. were guards JR Smith and Iman Shumpert, each of whom was acquired by the New York Knicks in a trade during the 2014-15 season. Smith now recalls why Shumpert was initially hesitant to accept the trade via the Nightcap Show with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ohochinko Johnson.
“We had a private flight to Cleveland the next day. I’m sitting there with Shump, and Shump said, “Damn, they don’t believe in us?”… I said, Shump, listen, I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about bro, but put it* ** down. We’re about to win the ship…just relax, just let it happen.”
The Cavs were struggling (at least compared to their extremely high expectations with the big three of James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love) at the time they traded Shumpert and Smith, but this acquisition allowed the team to turn their season around and ride that momentum throughout en route to the NBA Finals, where they fell to the Golden State Warriors in a six-game series, most of which both Love and Irving missed.
The next year, the Cavs secured the number one seed in the Eastern Conference and once again reached the finals, where they eliminated the Warriors after overcoming a 3-1 deficit. Shumpert and Smith both played critical roles in that playoff run, as well as the Cavs’ subsequent run to the Finals the following season.
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The Cavs are now looking to create the franchise’s first real prosperity without LeBron James on the roster, and Donovan Mitchell reiterated his commitment to do so by resigning with the team last offseason with a huge contract extension.
Still, it’s always nice to remember the glory days of yesteryear when both Smith and Shumpert torched opposing defenses.