The NBA's Twilight Star System

January 3, 2015 — The Cavaliers defeated the Hornets 91-87.

LeBron James, Anderson Varejao, and Jay Sun all sat out. Varejao and Jay were given normal rest days, while LeBron remained sidelined with a lingering injury.

In that game, Dion Waiters played 34 minutes, scoring 17 points with 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

Seeing Waiters get extended playing time?

Everyone knew what it meant — a trade was coming.

January 5 — The Cavs faced the Mavericks.

LeBron remained out, but the Mavericks had a familiar new face in their lineup — Rajon Rondo.

The game was tight, coming down to the final minutes. With five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Cavs trailed 90-95.

And that's when Cleveland's lack of leadership became painfully obvious.

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love both struggled to take control. Neither had the ability to deliver that one decisive blow to turn the game around.

Jay, however, stepped up.

With Kyrie and Love both faltering, Jay took the ball into his own hands.

Facing Monta Ellis, Jay showed superstar potential — relentlessly attacking the rim and creating offensive threats.

He looked like a prime Dwyane Wade, but one with a reliable three-point shot.

However, Tyson Chandler proved to be a defensive anchor in the paint, disrupting several of Jay's layup attempts.

On the defensive end, Jay locked down Ellis.

But the Mavericks had Dirk Nowitzki, and Dirk was on fire.

The veteran German scored repeatedly with his signature one-legged fadeaway, looking as unstoppable as ever.

With two minutes remaining, the Cavs trailed 101-98.

Jay held the ball beyond the arc, scanning the defense.

Kyrie moved to the corner, making way for Jay to operate.

Rondo's presence made it difficult for Kyrie to penetrate, forcing him into a passive role.

Meanwhile, Love was effective offensively but couldn't contain Dirk on the other end.

Jay decided to take matters into his own hands.

He went one-on-one with Ellis.

Seeing that Ellis couldn't handle Jay's drives, Rondo came over to help.

That left Kyrie open in the corner.

Jay quickly dished the ball to Kyrie.

Kyrie caught it, took a dribble to steady himself, and let it fly from three.

Rondo rushed back to contest the shot, adding pressure at the last second.

Bang — the shot clanked off the rim.

Tyson Chandler grabbed the rebound.

On the next possession, Dirk went back to work.

Back to the basket.

Turnaround fadeaway.

Splash.

103-98.

The Cavs were running out of time.

Kyrie tried to force his way to the rim on the following possession.

After getting past Rondo, he ran straight into Chandler's wall of defense.

Kyrie twisted his body mid-air, attempting a high-difficulty layup.

The ball bounced off the rim.

Dirk grabbed the rebound.

Moments later, Dirk hit another jumper to seal the game.

Final score: 105-98, Mavericks win.

Kyrie's performance? Disastrous.

6 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists, shooting just 22.2%.

Jay, on the other hand, delivered the best game of his young career:

31 points, 5 rebounds, and 11 assists.

It was his first career double-double and his first 30-point game.

Of Jay's 31 points, 15 came in the fourth quarter, further cementing his reputation as a Closer.

The Mavericks' MVP?

Dirk Nowitzki.

Even in the twilight of his career, Dirk's one-legged fadeaway remained unstoppable.

As Jay watched Dirk repeatedly hit those tough shots, a thought crossed his mind:

"I wonder if the system can give me that move…"

Just as the Cavs finished their game against the Mavs…

The trade news broke.

January 6, 2015 — The Cleveland Cavaliers completed a three-team trade with the Knicks and Thunder.

JR Smith and Iman Shumpert were headed to Cleveland.

Meanwhile, Dion Waiters was off to Oklahoma City.

Jay had been worried about JR Smith's arrival since the start of the season.

And now, he was here.

But the Cavs weren't done.

Two days later, another trade hit the news:

January 8, 2015 — The Cavs acquired Timofey Mozgov from the Nuggets.

The deal cost Cleveland two first-round picks, but they also received a second-round pick in return.

With Mozgov's arrival, the Cavs finally had a solid rim protector and rebounder.

It was unclear how much LeBron had influenced these trades, but everyone knew he had a hand in them.

Although the trades were finalized, the new players hadn't yet joined the team.

JR Smith reported to the Cavs on January 8, practiced once with the team, and suited up for their next game against the Houston Rockets.

Jay's concerns about JR taking his spot were quickly put to rest.

Jay remained in the starting lineup, while JR came off the bench as a spark plug scorer.

Jay resumed his role as a starting two-guard, sliding over to play point guard during the second unit's minutes.

The real loser in this rotation shift?

Matthew Dellavedova.

Dellavedova: "Wait… so I'm the only one getting fewer minutes? This is some BS."

Mozgov arrived shortly after JR and made his Cavs debut on January 9.

His first game?

A heavyweight clash against the Golden State Warriors.

January 10, Oracle Arena.

The Cavs arrived in Oakland to take on the Warriors.

The problem?

LeBron was still out with an injury.

Without LeBron, the Cavs were at a clear disadvantage against the red-hot Warriors.

The Cavs' starting lineup:

Kyrie Irving

Jay Sun

JR Smith

Kevin Love

Timofey Mozgov

The Warriors' starting lineup:

Stephen Curry

Klay Thompson

Harrison Barnes

Draymond Green

Andrew Bogut

The game tipped off, and Mozgov won the opening jump ball.

Kyrie immediately took the reins, running a pick-and-roll with Love.

Meanwhile, JR Smith and Jay Sun darted around the perimeter, creating movement to disrupt the Warriors' defense.

Golden State's defense rotated quickly, stifling Kyrie's drive. Forced to take a tough layup, Kyrie's shot bounced off the rim.

On the other end, Curry brought the ball up and handed it off to Draymond Green at the top of the arc.

Draymond scanned the floor like a quarterback.

Love stayed close, respecting Draymond's ability to hit threes.

Meanwhile, Klay Thompson couldn't shake Jay's tight defense.

But with a quick screen from Klay, Curry slipped free.

Draymond found him with a crisp pass.

Curry caught the ball and launched a quick-release three.

Splash.

The Cavs trailed 3-2, and the real battle had just begun.