Cleveland Cavaliers: Possible Trades Before the Deadline
By Austin Remo
Now that the Cleveland Cavaliers have seemingly put things together on both ends of the court with the recent trade acquisitions, one could assume that general manager David Griffin is done adding pieces to the roster.
After trading for Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov, Griffin filled just about every hole there was to fill. He got the catch-and-shoot threat in Smith, the rim protector and big in Mozgov, and the perimeter defender in Shumpert.
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The way Cleveland is playing with these new additions has been fun to watch, and is exactly what you would expect from a team with that much talent from players one through 15. They’re blowing teams out with great offense and solid defense, and are having fun doing it.
However, the rumblings and rumors have persisted over the past few weeks about adding one or two more players to the roster to fully round out the Cavs’ bench. And of course, with the NBA trade deadline drawing nearer, those rumblings have and will continue to get louder.
CLEVELAND’S NEEDS
When talking about the one or two players who could potentially take Cleveland’s roster and title chances to the next level, the ones that tend to surface most are that of a backup point guard and a power forward or center.
Kyrie Irving, the talented point guard from Duke and now three-time All-Star, is playing a ridiculously large amount of minutes. His 37.7 minutes per game average ranks him second in the league in that category, and has played 40 or more minutes in 19 games this season.
We all know the type of player Irving is, as he can take over for a stretch or even an entire game, witnessed by his 55-point outing against the Portland Trail Blazers at the end of January. He can score from midrange, around the basket, or even the three-point line (41 percent this season).
A player like Irving, even at his age, can’t be relied upon that heavily to do everything that he does for the Cavs come playoff time. Cleveland has to have a backup point guard who is more capable than Matthew Dellavedova, who sometimes seems like he stalls the offense.
They also are in need of a backup power forward or center, regardless of Mozgov’s impact on their defense and offense since his arrival in Cleveland.
An NBA team can never have too much size. In the Cavs’ case, they could desperately use one more big body to play a solid stretch of 10-15 minutes, or even 20 if need be, in case Mozgov, Kevin Love or Tristan Thompson get into foul trouble. Having Brendan Haywood as the fourth center on the team just isn’t going to cut it come playoff time.
But, as far as ranking those needs go, it seems like Griffin is more likely to add a backup point guard to their roster rather than another big. Simply put, there’s just not as many big men out there right now that can be added for what little Cleveland has to offer. Even after the great trades he’s made already this season, Haywood, Joe Harris and a presumably very late second-round pick can only get you so much.
TRADE POSSIBILITIES – PGS
First, we’ll look at two point guards who could fit the Cavs’ needs by doing what they’re already doing on their current teams.
Mo Williams – PG, Minnesota Timberwolves
Williams has been in a lot of trade rumors lately, and especially with the Cavs. Of course, he played for Cleveland in LeBron James‘ final two years in his first stint with the Cavs, and made his only All-Star appearance in 2008 with the club.
He’s making $3.75 million this season on a one-year deal, and could easily be added by move Haywood and either Joe Harris or Matthew Dellavedova. Currently, Williams is averaging 12.3 points and 6.5 assists in 28.3 minutes per game.
The Cavs could desperately use his scoring off the bench, and would be asked to do just that. In his first stint with the franchise, he averaged just more than 16 points per contest, so they know what he can bring offensively.
On the defensive end is where things get a little scary for Mo. He’s never really played a lick of defense, but he’d be out there specifically for his ability to put the ball in the basket and would be another threat from the three-point line, as he’s shot 38.2 percent from distance over his career.
Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal has more on the possibility of adding him to the Cavs’ roster:
"Mo Williams’ name has surfaced in recent weeks and the going-nowhere Minnesota Timberwolves are certainly open to moving him. Williams is making $3.8 million in the final year of his contract, meaning Haywood and Dellavedova would work financially, but it’s unclear if the Timberwolves would have interest in Haywood’s $10.5 million non-guaranteed contract for next season. Williams is not believed to be at the top of the Cavs’ wish list."
Jameer Nelson – PG, Denver Nuggets
Nelson could be exactly what the Cavs are looking for, and would come even cheaper than Williams. A solid veteran who has playoff experience, he’s also more of an offensive threat, but can still run the offense accordingly.
Also known for his offense over his defense, he could be solid contributor behind Irving and could definitely spell for more than just a few minutes at a time. When Dellavedova is on the court rather than Irving, the Cavs essentially get no scoring out of the point guard position, something that has gotten them into trouble in numerous games.
Again, scoring is all he would be asked to do in a backup role for Cleveland. In 11 games with his most recent and current team this season, Nelson is averaging 9.4 points and 4.5 assists in 21.7 minutes per game with Denver.
Jason Lloyd on Nelson:
"Jameer Nelson is another candidate and a better fit. He is on the Cavs’ short list of ideal trade options and he plays for the Denver Nuggets. The Cavs and Nuggets already closed one deal recently (Mozgov) and Cavs General Manager David Griffin is close with Nuggets GM Tim Connelly. Certainly this is a situation to watch in the coming days, particularly since Nelson has playoff experience (he went to the NBA Finals with the Orlando Magic) and he’s only making $2.7 million."
The recent trade for Mozgov and the relationship that Griffin has with Nuggets GM Tim Connelly could prove to be an advantage for the Cavs in trying to acquire the 11-year veteran from Saint Joseph’s.
If Cleveland does add a backup point guard, though, look for Nelson or Williams to be the guy that could be added.
BACKUP PF/CENTER
Perhaps more important than adding a backup point guard at this time in the season would be adding a backup power forward/center. Someone with size who can go out and play some post defense and block or alter shots if their number is called upon.
This has to be something that Griffin addresses before going into the postseason. Other than the chance of signing a free agent or a player who is bought out of their contract, he has to look at adding a big man through a trade.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, only one name has been popping up in trade discussions. That name is Miles Plumlee of the Phoenix Suns, who has per game averages of 4.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks.
They aren’t eye-popping numbers, but they come on 18.6 minutes a night, which is even less than he’d be playing for the Cavs. But, in case of foul trouble or even injury, Plumlee could still step in and give decent production in limited minutes.
Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal has more on his name being brought up as well:
"The same is true for bigs. The Cavs ideally would like a big who can defend and doesn’t need the ball to be effective. They were talking to the Phoenix Suns about Miles Plumlee before acquiring Mozgov and would still be open to adding him, particularly since he’s making less than $1.2 million this season. But the asking price might be beyond their means."
He’s exactly right about the asking price, especially now that second-year center Alex Len has gone down with an ankle sprain and is expected to miss around 2-3 weeks. Len came on strong this year after a putrid rookie campaign that was ravaged by injury, earning the starting center spot over Plumlee.
It’s very unlikely that a deal for Plumlee get’s done, but Griffin has done this before and basically acquired Smith and Shumpert for almost nothing.
The only other opportunities the Cavs have would be to wait for buyouts. Amar’e Stoudemire and Kevin Garnett could very well be bought out by their teams in the coming weeks, but as far as their chances of playing in wine and gold go, that seems highly unlikely.
The NBA Trade Deadline is rapidly approaching. By the time you read this, there will be roughly nine days or so before that deadline passes. That deadline happens on Feb.19 at 3:00 p.m. EST.
Only time will tell if Griffin can work his magic and pull off something out of thin air. With the need for a backup point guard and power forward/center, it will be up to him to decide what the Cavs need more, and just how he’ll go about doing it with such limited assets.
That’s the beauty of the trade deadline though: anything can happen.
Stats via Basketball-Reference.com.
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