Cavs trade chatter: Andre Drummond for Mavs’ Kristaps Porzingis unlikely
Talkin’ potential Cavs trade: Andre Drummond for Kristaps Porzingis.
The Cavs are looking to trade Andre Drummond, and the Mavericks look to be a team that would want to add the rim protector who’s making $27 million this season.
Let’s start with Porzingis. The Mavericks are “quietly shopping” the big man, according to the Bleacher Report.
Luka Doncic is the man in Dallas, and the hope was that Porzingis, a former lottery pick of the Knicks, would play an exceptional second fiddle.
He’s averaging 20.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, but defense is a rumor for the big man with injury histories. Porzingis inability to protect the rim has the Mavericks worried about their chances in the playoffs. One of the story’s sources described him as a “scarecrow out there.”
The Bleacher Report article mentioned how Drummond had been tied to the Mavs before, but the author noted how Dallas expressed no interest in moving Porzingis in a deal centered around Drummond.
Then, there’s this quote from the same anonymous source, which makes no sense if it’s true the Mavericks are shopping Porzingis.
“…They want a big to pair with [Porzingis],” one league source said. “Obviously with physicality, rebounding, toughness.”
So, which is it? Are they looking to move him, or not? Drummond would bring the physical presence they’re looking for, but but Dallas would probably just wait for the Cavs to buy him out.
Even if Dallas decides they’re ready to move on from Porzingis and settles on Drummond as a better fit, this deal really wouldn’t be beneficial to the Cavs, because isn’t Porzingis just a young version of the current Kevin Love?
Porzingis has three years and $158 million left on his contract–after this season. His injury resume is too many pages for a guy who’s 25. THE B/R story quoted a Western Conference exec, who said, “I can’t say that’s a contract I’d pay to take on.”
Ultimately, I don’t see Dallas flipping Porzingis for Drummond and I’m not sure it’s a deal the Cavs would take on because of the financial ramifications.
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The B/R article noted how teams such as Charlotte or Chicago could bet on Porzingis like the Mavs did not that long ago, while giving Dallas younger players and veterans on more cap friendly contracts.