Swingman Iman Shumpert went from the lowly New York Knicks to a Cleveland Cavaliers team that would ultimately make it to the NBA Finals back in 2015, and unsurprisingly, he has nothing but good things to say about that event.
Shumpert told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype that he felt for his Knicks teammates, as being traded to Cleveland was like being grabbed “out of hell.”
“For me, it would’ve been cool if [things ended differently with the Knicks],” Shumpert said. “I was hurt when I got traded, so it would’ve been cool for me if I had at least gotten to play my last games with them. I was sitting out for like a month and by the time I got traded, it was a deflating feeling, especially with that season that we were having. I felt like I didn’t get a chance to help get us out of the hole, you know what I mean? I just felt bad and felt like we had dropped a bunch of games. I felt bitter that I had to leave on such a bad note. I just remember the feeling [sucked]. It was like, ‘Ah, I’m hurt, we’ve lost a bunch of games in a row and then I’m traded.’
“Then, shortly after we walk in and we get to playing with the Cavs, we go on a long winning streak. I kept thinking back to my old teammates like, ‘Damn, I was hurt and we were losing. Now I come here and I’m playing well and the energy is great.’ I just felt like they kind of grabbed me out of hell. And every game was being showcased on TV and we’re winning. It was just crazy. I was happy, but I felt bad too.”
It’s safe to say that Shumpert’s feelings are shared by J.R. Smith, who was traded to Cleveland in the same deal. Given the mess that the Knicks have fallen into and the success the pair have had in Cleveland, you can hardly blame them.
