When the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Dwyane Wade following his buyout from the Chicago Bulls, they knew his arrival meant they had to free up a roster spot and offload a player.On the eve of the new season, that unlucky player is veteran Richard Jefferson.The Cavs traded the 36-year-old, along with Kay Felder, to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday and have set their 15-man squad for the upcoming campaign.But the departure of RJ will be felt strongly by the team as well as the Cavaliers fan base.During his two years with the Wine and Gold, Jefferson was one of the most popular teammates and turned into a real fans' favourite.He struck a chord with the Cavs fans through his frequent use of Snapchat and his popular podcast 'Road Trippin'.The small forward is considered to be the best sports personality on Snapchat and used the platform to connect with fans in a humourous way and offered a brilliant behind-the-scenes look at the team.He hosted the podcast with close friend Channing Frye and had regular guest appearances from the likes of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.Because of his time with the San Antonio Spurs, Jefferson was also able to convince Tim Duncan to appear on an episode in a rare interview for the NBA legend.Among all the players on the Cavaliers roster, the former Arizona Wildcat shared his closest relationship with Frye and Love and the two players shared some heartfelt reactions to his departure on social media.K.Love took to Instagram and wrote: "The Triangle will never be the same!!! So much can be said about RJ…but the truth is we would never have been able to celebrate our 2016 Championship without the contributions of RJ and what he brought on and off the floor. He always stepped up to make our team better. Yeah, he can be a f— idiot sometimes but he was instrumental in making our team a family. Will miss going to war with you…and s----ing on Channing!!! Brotherhood!!!"It was Jefferson himself who shared Frye's reaction as he posted a hilarious video of the big man pretending to cry and then followed it up by showing how he feels to be leaving his close friend behind.

Whatever happens, Jefferson will always have a bond with the city of Cleveland after helping them secure their first championship in 2016.

But the team's focus is purely on winning another title this year and giving themselves the best opportunity to overcome the Golden State Warriors if they meet in the finals for a fourth consecutive year.