Cleveland Cavaliers Now Leads Chase To Land David West

By Ryan Rosko | Jul 4, 2015

Could another player with Ohio ties come back and play for the defending Eastern Conference Champions? That possbility is real as Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reports the Cleveland Cavaliers now are in the lead to land forward David West.

West was not born in Ohio but does have history in the Buckeye state by being a former Xavier Muskateer among other reasons. He is the most recent of names who have been linked to possibly joining the Cavs either via fre agency or trade.

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The veteran forward has a career average of 15.5 ppg and 7.2 rpg over twelve seasons with the New Orleans (now Charlotte) Hornets and Indiana Pacers franchises.

Cleveland would have West, Kevin Love, Anderson Varejao, Timofey Mozgov, if/when Tristan Thompson finally signs a deal, and possibly rookie Rakeem Christmas. If you wanted to put LeBron James in as another option, that would be fine. The number just rises to seven players attempting to get adequate playing time with big contracts.

A team cannot have enough big men, but there would be an issue if they end up spending big on multiple players, who may not get the minutes they could get elsewhere. Cleveland would not get the most bang for their buck. If the Cavaliers were to sign West, the team may be starting a logjam at the power forward and center positions.

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What I take pause on is not the playing time but the contracts of some of the players Cleveland is negotiating with or have already signed.

James has yet to sign an extension and Thompson wants big money. Money that is much more than the initial offers.

West is a talented player who will continue to put up solid production. No, he does not have the relationship Thompson has with James, but West does do more than defend and rebound, which is Thompson’s specialty.

Dan Gilbert and the Cavs are spending big and are not holding back. Depending on what West is wanting to get paid, this signing would make sense and could be a steal. What if West becomes Thompson’s replacement and the team uses that money in other areas? I very much do not believe that will happen, but it something that should be kept in mind since Thompson has yet to sign his deal.

Thompson is certainly not worth a contract like the one he has been close to finishing. That contract would be worth more than $80 million. When that deal is done and he can sign is yet to be known.

West does have his options with San Antonio being a strong consideration too, especially with LaMarcus Aldridge now in the fold. Cleveland should continue to do whatever they can to get West to come back to Ohio. Will he? These next few days will be interesting to see how negotiations plays out. If he were to sign with Cleveland, West would be a very underrated but valuable front court player that would certainly be a benefit for the team.

Would you like to see the Cavs sign West?

Next: When Will LeBron James Sign a Long-Term Contract With The Cleveland Cavaliers?

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