5 players for Cleveland Cavaliers to target at trade deadline

1. Julius Randle

Much like the Cleveland Cavaliers, the New York Knicks are looking to lose as many games as possible. Rebuilding the team is their top priority and securing the best odds to win the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery is the primary goal.

Right now, both the Cavs and Knicks are doing a pretty great job of playing bad basketball. Each holds a 13-36 record, tied with the Atlanta Hawks at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Only the Golden State Warriors has a worse overall record.

The Knicks’ biggest problem is that they have a ton of pieces that don’t fit well together. Poor shooting forwards and big men such as Bobby Portis, Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle, Kevin Knox, and Taj Gibson just isn’t a good combination.

Julius Randle is by far the most talented of that group, scoring the second-most points per game on the team at 19.0 a night. Randle also averages 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

He is a muscular forward with speed and a decent handle. Randle excels at bullying his way into the paint and using his size to overpower opponents around the rim. His athleticism makes him an elite finisher and a great rebounder.

Even so, his fit with the team is questionable. The Knicks have enough forwards and it’s hard to imagine Randle will ever mesh with RJ Barrett, who is expected to be a cornerstone of the franchise moving forward.

After this season, Randle has two more years on his $63 million contract. Because of this, the Cavaliers could send an expiring contract like Tristan Thompson to the Knicks in order to offer them a way out of Randle’s contract.

Having Randle run from rim to rim sounds like a fun dynamic for the Cavaliers to add to their guard-heavy offense. Randle’s ability to score in the paint will make things easier for the rest of the team.