These are three big names the Cavs should make a run at.
The Cavs are not in a position to compete for an NBA title in 2021-2022, what they should be striving for at the very most is competing for a playoff spot and at the worst, not having one of the worst records in the NBA for the fourth straight season.
Most of these names are seen by some as “damaged goods” but the Cavs are in desperate need of anything good, damaged or otherwise. The point of each of these trades is less about blowing up the young corp and shaving off a slice or two in order to hasten the pace of the rebuild.
There are going to be two “rules” that will be adhered to. Darius Garland or Collin Sexton can be traded, but not both. One of them has to remain on the team, regardless of anything else. The other rule is that the 2021 NBA Draft Pick the Cavs have is being held on to. This is a bilateral move, focusing on today and tomorrow. Giving up that pick is a non-starter.
C.J. McCollum
Now, Kevin Love has been deemed “untradeable” but to make each of these trades work, guess who’s gotta get moved? Granted, in each trade idea he’s there to facilitate the money part and isn’t seen as “the piece” of the puzzle.
So starting with the Trailblazers, we’re looking at this move the same as the Cavs; this is both for today and tomorrow. The Trailblazers get four draft picks, one of which may be very valuable if they move on from Damian Lillard (or if they keep him) and opt to rebuild. Kevin Love and Taurean Prince provide instant help for Lillard as scoring options, with the hope that Love can still be a double-double machine if he gets healthy. Darius Garland instantly becomes the team’s sixth-man, while also potentially serving as Lillard’s heir apparent.
For the Cavs, Derrick Jones can help out the defense and be a Larry Nance Jr.-type player off the bench, while Enes Kanter could be a backup center, trade bait for another team, or bought out. The big get is C.J. McCollum for the Cavs who would probably send Collin Sexton to the bench.
This trade is being done in conjunction with the draft pick the Cavs have in 2021, who would take a point guard, hopefully, Jalen Suggs.
Kemba Walker
This is the best trade on paper for both teams, with regards to what they’re giving up. The Celtics and Kemba Walker are done with one another and Walker will more than likely do whatever he can to get a trade out. So getting anything for him is a net positive. The same thing with Kevin Love, getting rid of him in itself would be a positive for the Cavs.
The Celtics, to help entice them to take on the Love contract, would get two second-round draft picks and Dylan Windler. Maybe Windler turns into something, but probably not. That’s enough of a sweet kicker to take on Love’s deal.
Walker costs $3 more than Love, so that helps the Celtics out even more. For the Cavs, they get a point guard who still has something left in the tank, even if it’s not an All-NBA caliber-something. He’d also help stabilize the point guard spot, and could probably send Darius Garland to the bench to play as the sixth-man, a role he may be suited for.
The Cavs would also keep Garland and Collin Sexton for future trade possibilities as well, not to mention the first-round draft pick. Considering who the team has on the roster at this point, the focus would be on a big man in the draft, or a two-way forward and not a point guard.
Kristaps Porzingis
The C.J. McCollum trade has me happy. The Kemba Walker trade has me nonplus at worst. The Kristaps Porzingis trade has me giddy. Unlike most of the NBA blog-o-sphere, I don’t believe Porzingis is the problem in Dallas that many paint him as. They aren’t using him as New York did, and playing him at center has been something he hasn’t exactly liked doing. Putting him next to Jarrett Allen in a Cavs lineup would give Cleveland a big who can actually work the floor and play defense.
He’s young, sure, which is nice. He’s also trying to prove he can return to the same form he had in New York, which some will doubt his ability to ever achieve. The thing that makes Porzingis so attainable is that he and Luka Doncic aren’t getting along. If a battle between egos, the star of the team will always win.
Doncic needs three-point shooting help. He tried to carry the Mavs (and nearly did) past the Clippers but the Mavs just didn’t have the offensive help to get past them. They’ll have to make some decisions on guys like Dwight Powell, Josh Richardson, and Tim Hardaway, but the Mavs will at least have some three-point shooting in Kevin Love and Dylan Windler, while also getting another young guard to pair with Doncic and Jalen Brunson in the form of Darius Garland
If nothing else, the Mavs can flip these pieces for different pieces, or keep Garland and move Brunson. Seeing as there are reports that the Mavs can’t move Porzingis for anyone of note, a move like this may be their best bet.
Love worked well with LeBron James, with who Doncic shares a style. Not only is Love, in theory, a great fit alongside Doncic, but Love has been wanting to work the low-post more, something he’d be able to do with Dallas.
This again would see the Cavs use their 2021 NBA Draft pick on a guy like Jalen Suggs, to fill the void that Garland’s trade causes.