Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert believes the 2016 championship team should have stayed intact.
As a matter of fact, Shumpert told Stadium’s Shams Charania that he wishes the Cavs would have stayed together for two more years.
"I'm not saying I regret it. But we had a good thing going."@imanshumpert tells our NBA Insider @ShamsCharania about Cavs team splitting up and Kyrie Irving's feelings on departure. pic.twitter.com/KxxowyqN5J
— Stadium (@Stadium) April 15, 2020
“When you see these guys, there’s always big smiles, a lot of hugs,” Shumpert said of the 2016 team. “Being a part of that was special. We’re all very, very appreciative of that. We just wish we could have held it together for maybe two more years, two more years to see what we could do.”
Shumpert, 29, played on the Cavs for three-and-a-half seasons.
The guard was an active participant in the Cavs’ 2016 championship run.
However, the landscape of the NBA dramatically changed after Cavs came back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the star-studded Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals.
The Warriors added superstar Kevin Durant the ensuing summer, which made the already amazing squad nearly unbeatable.
Although the Cavs and Warriors linked up again in the 2017 NBA Finals, Durant led Golden State to an easy 4-1 victory over Cleveland.
The Warriors decimated opponents during the 2017 postseason, finishing the playoffs with a historic 16-1 record.
The following summer, All-Star Kyrie Irving demanded a trade. The trade request was the first step in a complete overhaul for Cleveland.
While the Cavs tried to keep some pieces intact, the squad just didn’t meshing during the 2017-18 regular season. As a result, the front office reshaped and retrofitted the roster.
In a series of trades, Shumpert saw himself traded to the Sacramento Kings in 2018. The journeyman has career averages of 7.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
