The Deal
Cavaliers get: Center Channing Frye (from Orlando)
Magic get: Guard Jared Cunningham (from Cleveland); second-round pick (from Portland)
Trail Blazers get: Center Anderson Varejao, 2018 first-round pick (top-10 protected 2018 and 2019, from Cleveland)
Cleveland Cavaliers: A-minus
The Cavaliers get a couple of benefits from this trade. The first comes on the court, where Frye is an upgrade from Varejao. Aside from 2014-15, when he was limited by a sprained MCL suffered in training camp, Frye's floor spacing has made him a favorite of ESPN's Real Plus-Minus. This season, he ranks among the top 10 power forwards in RPM.
I don't love the fit in Cleveland because it's hard to imagine Frye and Kevin Love being a workable frontcourt defensively due to limited rim protection. (Their shooting at the other end would make the Cavaliers difficult to stop, however.) So Frye is probably limited to a reserve role when Love is on the bench alongside either Timofey Mozgov or Tristan Thompson.
Still, that's a lot more than Cleveland was getting from Varejao. The longtime Cavalier, a starter at the beginning of 2014-15, just hasn't been the same since rupturing his Achilles in December 2014. He has played just 310 minutes all season, a rate unlikely to increase. Besides Varejao's declining play, the other issue is that he's best off playing center -- same as Mozgov and Thompson. Frye brings additional versatility because he can space the floor at power forward.
Cleveland also wins big financially by moving Varejao's contract in this deal rather than simply taking Frye into the trade exception the team has left over from dealing Brendan Haywood. (Technical note: This deal can be structured to utilize the Haywood exception to create a new one in the amount of Varejao's salary that doesn't expire until a year from now.) Instead of adding to a tax bill that was already set to be historic, the Cavaliers actually save money with this trade -- about $800,000 in salary and $9 million in taxes.
Just trading what is likely to be a late first-round pick to save that much money wouldn't be the craziest idea. To also upgrade in talent makes this a great deal. Cleveland does take on some additional money down the road because Frye's 2017-18 salary is fully guaranteed, whereas Varejao's salary is nonguaranteed by that point, but that extra obligation is well worth it.
Orlando Magic: C-minus
For the Magic, this is a pure salary dump. And that's hard to understand in the context of how well Orlando played with Frye in the lineup this season. Per NBA.com/Stats, the Magic outscored opponents by 2.6 points per 100 possessions with Frye on the court -- the only positive net rating of any player with at least 200 minutes of action.
Yet Frye apparently took the blame for Orlando's January swoon. He was replaced in the starting lineup by second-year forward Aaron Gordon and last played more than 20 minutes on Jan. 14, getting a handful of DNP-CDs recently. With the addition of fellow stretch big Ersan Ilyasova in Tuesday's trade with the Detroit Pistons, Frye's salary had become dead weight.
In the long term, I don't think the Magic will miss Frye much. Having his salary off the books as he enters his mid-30s isn't such a bad idea. But it doesn't square with the emphasis Orlando has apparently put on winning now.
Without Frye, the Magic are now looking at upward of $40 million in cap space for next summer. Cap holds for restricted free agents Evan Fournier and Andrew Nicholson (and possibly for unrestricted free agent Brandon Jennings) will cut into that, but Orlando can also create more space by waiving Ilyasova because his 2016-17 salary is guaranteed for just $400,000.
No matter the actual number, Orlando will have max cap space. Unfortunately, this is probably the worst year in NBA history to have cap space, given how much more money will be available than talent. The best-case scenario is probably the Magic paying heavily for a veteran like Al Horford who won't help them seriously contend in the short term and will be overpaid by the end of his contract.
In the worst-case scenario, Orlando ends up paying more to get the kind of talent it already had on its roster with Frye and Tobias Harris.
Portland Trail Blazers: B-minus
It was a question of how, not whether, the Blazers would use their massive store of cap space before the deadline. While they still have plenty left after this deal, it qualifies as their biggest strike. At this point, getting any first-round pick for taking on salary has become difficult. To do so, the Blazers -- like the Philadelphia 76ers with JaVale McGee this time a year ago -- had to take on additional guaranteed salary for next year.
By all accounts, Portland will simply waive Varejao now. That gives the Blazers the option this summer of either taking the entire $9.4 million Varejao was guaranteed for 2016-17 (plus a 5 percent trade kicker) on their cap immediately or spreading it over the next five seasons. Portland has the cap space to take on that salary and still have plenty of room to re-sign restricted free agents Allen Crabbe and Meyers Leonard, but if the Blazers view themselves as potential players in free agency, they may prefer to stretch it.
The pick Portland gets doesn't have a lot of upside, as Cleveland should still be contending by 2018 and the pick is top-10 protected in case of a doomsday scenario, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. Still, it helps the Blazers, who could be out a first-rounder either this year or next from acquiring Arron Afflalo at the 2015 deadline.
Portland also benefits financially from getting closer to the salary floor. The Blazers pay Varejao only the $3 million or so remaining on his contract rather than splitting the full amount (nearly $10 million) among the players on their roster. Portland remains about $4 million below the floor and could take on more salary before the deadline hits.