5 players for Cleveland Cavaliers to target at trade deadline

4. Hassan Whiteside

The Cleveland Cavaliers need a big man in a bad way. Cleveland has ranked dead last in the league in blocks for two consecutive seasons and is in the bottom third of the league for rebounding despite having two players average 10-plus boards a night.

The Cavs are lacking in size with no players on the roster above 6’10”. No matter what they do, they will always be at a disadvantage playing against bigger players and elite finishers around the rim.

A fix for this could be acquiring Hassan Whiteside. In surprising fashion, Whiteside broke out as a potential star in Miami when he averaged 14.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game in 2015-16.

Since then, Whiteside’s production has taken a dip. He seems uninterested more often than not and can become disengaged easily. Still, he leads the NBA in blocks with a total of 131 through 43 games.

The Portland Trail Blazers have been heavily disappointing this season as they are 10th in the Western Conference. It’s possible they decide to shake things up at the trade deadline by making a trade to acquire another All-Star such as Kevin Love.

Finding a suitable trade partner for Love’s hefty $30 million contract is tough but Whiteside’s contract is almost identical and set to end this season, leaving options for the Cavs moving forward.