The Cleveland Cavaliers are having an awful season by their standards and after showing a small resurgence following their trade deadline deals, they've hit another horrible slump.

The 126-117 loss to the Denver Nuggets was their fourth loss at home out of the last five.

The Cavs are once again looking like the team that struggled to get any wins when they still had the likes of Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and Dwyane Wade on their roster.

The trio, along with Channing Frye, Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert, were offloaded last month as part of a complete overhaul to save their campaign.

The decision to trade Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in the summer has truly backfired on the Cavaliers and they have found it extremely difficult to replace the All-Star point guard.

Thr acquisitions of Thomas and Crowder didn't work out and the team's problems this year stem from that trade.

Another player who was shipped off before the start of the season was veteran Richard Jefferson.

RJ played a big role in Cleveland's championship win in 2016 both on and off the floor and his presence in the locker room is something they have missed this year.

The 37-year-old made his first return to Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday night as a member of the Nuggets and he explained the lack of veteran leadership is why the Cavs struggled early in the year.

"I think every team needs veteran leadership," Jefferson said Saturday, per Cleveland.com.

"I think every team needs guys that help the locker room and I think every team needs guys that say, 'What do you need from me? You need me to just go guard this guy? You need me to not play tonight?' Whatever the coach needed."

Jefferson went on to say that he and former teammate Channing Frye helped to bring this quality and did a great job in being 'glue guys' that brought the team together.

He said that even though the franchise brought in some good talent, it's not always enough to be successful as there are other important traits needed.

"They might have added a lot of talent (in the off-season), but I don't think they added enough soldiers," Jefferson said. "Like, 'Hey, what do you need me to do?' Not, 'What is my role? When am I getting my shots? Or, What's best for me?'

"It was more of like, 'Hey, if this is what you need me to do, then, all right.' One of the things I think every team needs and it's not about Cleveland, it's just every team needs people to accept their role with enthusiasm."

A player like Thomas, for example, was coming off a career-year in Boston where he was an MVP candidate and he found it tough to co-exist alongside LeBron James and play off the ball a lot more.

It led to turmoil and disharmony in the camp and forced general manager Koby Altman to make the changes.

But at this stage, the team's chances of competing for a championship look slimmer with each game they play.