The Cavs are looking for trade partners in a potential Andre Drummond deal, but while we wait, these writers have pitched some good ideas.
The Cavs are looking to ship off Andre Drummond after less than a year’s worth of games. A failed trade if there ever was one, Drummond has developed a bad reputation of spotty play and even spottier shot selection. The official report from head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is that this was a “mutual” decision to sit Drummond until a trade could be found.
Seems unlikely but hey, we found some trades and we’re going to talk about why these trades work for the Cavs and the team they’re shipping Drummond off to.
Trade #1
Source: Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report
The first trade is from Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report and it sees Andre Drummond going to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for two centers, Cody Zeller and Bismack Biyombbo, and a combo-guard in Malk Monk.
Let’s just say that I adore this trade. Malik Monk isn’t going to be an All-Star at any point in his career, and that makes the Hornets drafting of him a bad pick. The Cavs won’t have invested the same capital in him as the Hornets, so if Monk never becomes more than a rotation player off the bench, so be it. Monk can be just that. He’s got a true shooting percentage of 61%, a huge marketed improvement from his three previous years in Charlotte. That puts him 87th in the league out of every NBA player who qualifies.
Again, not great for Charlotte who took him with the 11th overall pick in 2017, but the Cavs aren’t spending a top 11 draft pick on him.
The rest of the deal works well, as the Cavs will need more big bodies down low under the hoop to round out the frontcourt. Cody Zeller is a good offensive player who can help provide some stability down low that they’re lacking with Drummond and Bismack Biyombo can help close out the half and games when the Cavs are up, as he’s still a solid, albeit unremarkable, defensive player.
Charlotte gets a solid big man who LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, and Gordan Hayword can rely on going forward. The team is rumored to be interested in moving Devonte Graham and if they do, they can really expedite their rebuild overnight.
Trade #2
Source: Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report
We’re back with Greg Swartz for this three-team deal. Trust us when we say we went through dozens of trade proposals, yet Swartz had the only ones worth checking out. In this scenario, Andre Drummond heads off to Toronto this time, while Toronto sends G/F Norman Powell, F/C Aron Baynes, F Stanely Johnson, and SG Patrick McCaw to Denver. In turn, Denver sends Garry Harris and a lottery-protected first-round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
This trade does not excite me as much as the first, but the first-round pick is nice. Though, in the NBA, draft picks are highly overrated after the top 10, usually. There are always good players after the lottery ends, but again, they’re not on anyone’s radar and come out of nowhere most times. More than likely the pick will fall in the 20’s and the Cavs will walk away with a player who either never produces or never even suits up for them.
The Raptors get a guy they’re rumored to want, so this trade works for them. The Nuggets don’t really benefit from this trade, making it unlikely to happen. Norman Powell is averaging 16 points per game, but the Nuggets are already one of the best offenses in the league. There are only so many possessions in a game. The team needs help defensively and Powell, at best, is slightly below average on that side of the court.
Stanley Johnson and Aron Baynes are upgrades on defense, sure, but they take minutes away from better offensive players. The days of being able to play 4-on-5 offensively are gone. This isn’t the early 2000’s anymore, where you can get away with offensive black holes. Teams are too good, and the top teams in the league will just overwhelm you to the point that one good defender doesn’t really make an impact.
Patrick McCaw is hurt and is an unknown at this point.
The Cavs are getting a fine player in Gary Harris but he’s not better than what they already have. Taking him on isn’t going to improve the team’s play. Plus, the Cavs will have to eat $20 million for the 2021-2022 season. If the Cavs were hoping to get both Drummond and Love off the books this year, it makes no sense, considering they could just let Drummond walk and rid themselves of his nearly $30 million deal. The late-first round pick isn’t worth taking on Harris’ deal.
Especially if the goal is to clear cap space.
Trade #3
Source: Me
The money works here, but Joe Harris can’t be traded until March 2nd. Since the trade deadline is on March 25th, this gives the Cavs plenty of time to make this deal. While it may seem like the Nets are giving up a lot at first glance, they’re not, at least not for sure. The Cavs would send Andre Drummond and Damyean Dotson to the Nets, who would ship back Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, and Tyler Johnson.
Dinwiddie and Harris would be far too much to give up for Drummond in any other year, but Dinwiddie is out with a torn ACL and who knows what he’ll be like when he comes back. So the real get here is Harris, who’s a three-point shooter, with solid defensive skills on the perimeter.
Two areas the Cavs need to improve.
Cavs fans may remember that Harris was already a Cavalier once, back in the day. So this would be a homecoming of sorts for the sharp-shooting Nets player. Johnson gives the Cavs another body to throw at the perpetual problem that is the starting backcourt but not much else there.
The hope is that Dinwiddie rebounds in 2021-2022, his contract year, and becomes the Cavs starter at point guard. He’s an instant upgrade on both sides of the court than Darius Garland will probably ever be. That is if he returns to form. Even if he doesn’t, you’ll be done with his deal next year and can walk away from him if he doesn’t rebound. Plus, you can then flip Harris if the team is still awful, so there are more potential assets there.
Drummond is an upgrade over DeAndre Jordan and would give them a depth at center. While Jordan isn’t great anymore, he’s probably able to handle a few back-up centers still. Plus this allows the Nets to not rely on Jeff Green at center anymore.
The Nets need help on defense and Drummond offers that. When motivated, Drummond can haul. It works for both teams.