The Cleveland Cavaliers should get involved with the Hornets and 76ers

The Cleveland Cavaliers could really have an offseason to remember…

Both the Philadelphia 76ers and The Charlotte Hornets are trying to shed cap space and are willing to give away first-round picks to make that happen. The Cleveland Cavaliers would be fools, simply fools, to not try to pillage these picks from the two teams respectively.

Granted, one would be much easier to pull off than the other. The first one is the Hornets trying to trade away Hayward while attaching the No. 13 or No. 15 pick to the trade. Sweet, send over Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro and call it a day.

Then follow it up with the second trade. This trade would probably need a third team, maybe a poorly ran franchise like The New York Knicks or Sacramento Kings to get in on it. Regardless, the Cavs could end up sneaking in and stealing Thybulle from the 76ers, if there’s a three or four-team deal that included Tobias Harris heading somewhere else.

Yet, unless some real magic working is done, to pull off the first-rounder from Philadelphia as well, you’d have to give up Dean Wade and Lamar Stevens to make any trade work. Is it worth giving up both to get another rookie? I don’t know.

Should the Cleveland Cavaliers pursue these trades?

The Cavs should absolutely pursue the Hornets trade. You get a new starter at the forward spot, and you get a first-round pick, and you get rid of two guys who aren’t really contributing to your team while giving Hornets the cap relief they’re seeking?

Heck yeah. LeVert’s a free agent after this season and with the Hornets having two-first round picks, why the heck not? It’s not like the trade market is bullish on Hayward and after what the Houston Rockets accepted for Christian Wood, who granted isn’t the guy so many claim he is, the idea that you’re the hornets and you can get out of Hayward’s deal a year early and get back a quality mid-range scorer and a young wing who can play defense?

That’s really a win-win as far as I’m concerned.

As for the 76ers, that’s where I’m less sure. The Cavs need to sign Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio to new deals, and it’s likely that they won’t have much in the way of money outside of that to do any free agent bidding. So, there’s really no way to get in on a sign-and-trade and if you can’t bring a non-roster player into the trade scenario, then there’s no way you can get Thybulle and a first-round pick from the 76ers.

This is assuming Okoro and LeVert are gone. That leaves you with just Stevens, Wade, and Dylan Windler; the player I would have in mind to trade to the 76ers. You can do Windler/Thybulle straight up and get to keep a defensive player who may be even better than Okoro on the roster, but you won’t get that first-rounder.

Not unless you take on Danny Green or someone else’s contract and the Cavs shouldn’t be making major moves like that, not for a pick in the mid-20s.

If they want to just give up Thybulle and the first for Windler though? Sure, and don’t ask if they’re sure. Just get the deal done.

It just doesn’t seem realistic.