Cleveland Cavaliers need to be active at the NBA trade deadline

The deadline to make any trades or signings is rapidly approaching and the Cleveland Cavaliers have a number of moves they have yet to make. Expect the front office to be active in the coming weeks.

The Cavs have lingering issues such as Andre Drummond, who has not appeared in a game since early February as the team searches for a suitable trading partner. Then, there’s Kevin Love, who has grown accustomed to being on the trading block every single season since 2014 – yet never actually being traded. Perhaps this could be his year?

There are also other expandable players such as Cedi Osman, JaVale McGee and Damyean Dotson who could all be featured in a trade before the deadline. But who, if any, should be the main priorities at the deadline? And, should the Cavs look to sign any potential buyout candidates?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have plenty of assets to unload and potential moves to make before the NBA trade deadline and buyout period

First and foremost, the Drummond saga has to come to an end. Ideally, the Cavaliers will find a team willing to absorb his massive contract in exchange for something. Anything, really. Having this situation end with an anticlimatic buyout and watching Drummond sign with a contender like the Brooklyn Nets or Los Angeles Lakers would really be a huge misstep from Cleveland.

Sadly, the market for Drummond is thin. Not only is the need for traditional centers like Drummond dwindling – but it doesn’t help that he’s making near max money. There are rumors that the Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings are expressing interest in the former All-Star but nothing is concrete yet.

The same goes for Love. While he may have more value to contending teams because of his championship experience and floor spacing capabilities, he’s also on a bad contract and has missed a majority of the last few seasons with injuries. Not exactly an ideal trade target for most teams.

More likely to go is McGee, who has been an electric presence off the bench for Cleveland. He isn’t playing big minutes or doing anything too special but he’s been a positive factor in just about every game he’s played in and could absolutely haul in a second-round pick from a team looking to move the needle before the postseason begins.

Osman has also reportedly drawn interest from teams like the Golden State Warriors. Though extremely inconsistent, Osman has had moments where he has looked like a reliable catch-and-shoot threat and he always plays hard. He is definitely one player who could be added to any potential deals as a sweetener.

Completely out of consideration should be Larry Nance, Collin Sexton, Isaac Okoro, Dylan Windler and Jarrett Allen. All of whom have shown they have enough promise and potential to remain active members of the rotation at the very least through the remainder of this season.

As for signings, the Cavaliers already made a move to sign Quinn Cook who fills their need for a backup point guard. This seems like a logical addition and helps push Dotson to a more comfortable scoring role with the second unit – rather than attempting to be a playmaker. This also makes Dotson more expandable and raises his likelihood of being traded.

The rest of the buyout market doesn’t appear very hopeful for Cleveland. Their best target would be Otto Porter, who seems like he will be parting ways with Chicago. However, Porter will probably look to join a contender, not another lottery team.

Nonetheless, the trade deadline offers the Cleveland Cavaliers a chance to move some dead contracts off of the books and work towards surrounding their young core with more talent. They should absolutely be active here.