Cleveland Cavaliers Need To Push For Deron Williams
NBA All-Star break is a month away, which means the trade deadline is looming. The Cleveland Cavaliers are still looking for a veteran point guard and Deron Williams is the solution.
It’s been no secret that the Cleveland Cavaliers are shopping for another point guard. LeBron James even made it public on social media and after their horrendous loss to the Golden State Warriors, he may need to speak a little louder.
Needless to say, everyone is familiar with their recent trade that sent Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Mo Williams to the Hawks in exchange for Kyle Korver.
This trade was substantial with J.R. Smith sidelined until April, but if this team wants to avoid another beating like they took out in Golden State, general manager David Griffin need to listen to his star and bring in help.
A lot of names have floated around that could potentially help the Cavaliers. Mario Chalmers, Rajon Rondo and Jameer Nelson are among some that provide veteran minutes off the bench.
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The one name that makes the most sense though is Deron Williams. Williams is on a soon-to-be-rebuilding Dallas Mavericks team. He is on a one-year deal and I’m sure he’d love a chance at a championship.
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I believe Williams has plenty of basketball to play in his career, but it’s come time to start thinking NBA championship and not how much is going to be on the next paycheck.
The Cavaliers not only have a rookie in Kay Felder backing up their star point guard, they’re hurting else where. Cleveland ranks 20th in the NBA with 21.3 assists per game.
This is important because guess who currently ranks first and second? Golden State and Houston. Both teams could be potential opponents Cleveland would face in June should they reach the NBA Finals.
Along with their assist game needing help, Felder is only averaging 5.0 points and 1.7 assists per game while only playing 10.5 minutes a night. This is taking a toll on Kyrie Irving and LeBron James and how many minutes they’re playing.
Williams can come in and make a difference immediately. This season, he is averaging 14 points while dishing out 6.9 assists in 30.4 minutes per game. Williams is assisting on 41 percent of his team’s possessions.
Williams will see a drop in these number if he were to come to Cleveland and play a backup role, but it’s obvious the return for the team is immense.
Cleveland boosts its points off the bench, it gets more help in the assist game, obviously, and it allow its stars to play balanced minutes. Along with the numerical help, it gets a veteran who can facilitate an offense and still drive to the hoop.
The Cavaliers wouldn’t be the only ones reaping benefit from this trade. The Dallas Mavericks would more than likely receive Jordan McRae and a first- or second-round draft pick.
Trading Deron Williams to Cleveland allows some underrated veterans in J.J. Barea and Devin Harris to get quality minutes with an evolving offense.
Plus, if Dallas decides to set fire to everything and consider this season gone (as it should), the Mavericks could potentially receive the No. 1 pick in this year’s Draft Lottery and next year’s point guard class could be one of the best in history.
The issue for this trade is finances. With Williams’ contract, Cleveland would be well over the cap. If there is a way for Williams to negotiate a buyout with Dallas, then the two teams could meet the financial guidelines.
In reality though, this trade is going to take multiple teams. This is where Dallas avoids taking a point guard in the draft and receives one before this deadline. Rumor has it, there have been talks involving Boston and Miami for a four-team trade.
Regardless of who is involved and how the trade gets completed, the bottom line is, Cleveland needs help. Going on a six-game road trip and coming home 3-3 is not a good look for the reigning champs.
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Cleveland has some ground to make up and the deadline is still more than a month away, but if they’re going to compete come June, they need to make this trade a priority and figure out how to bring Deron Williams to “The Land.”