[Editor’s Note: Adam Cathcart is back to recap another lost gem, the Feb. 29th loss to the Pacers, a definite breakout game for Andre Drummond. You can watch the full game on league pass, here. Enjoy!]
In an academic paper entitled “The Automated General Manager: An Algorithmic System for Drafts, Trades, and Free Agency that Outperforms Human Front Offices,” Philp Haymin broke down the 2014 trade that brought the Cavs Kevin Love and sent Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Between the blocks of data tables that characterise the NBA analytics industry, Haymin made a passing but remarkable nod to two things around that Cavs trade: the human factor of player desire in ‘lame duck’ seasons, and former overall number 1 pick, Anthony Bennett’s ‘historically terrible rookie season.