Although the Cavaliers remain on the lookout for an upgrade on the wing, there’s a “growing sense” that they don’t love the options available to them on the trade market and would be comfortable standing pat if no deal comes to fruition, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link).
Isaac Okoro has been impressive since becoming the full-time starter at small forward, averaging 9.2 points per game with a .500 3PT% in his last 18 games. Given how strong a defender Okoro is, he may be the Cavaliers’ best option at that spot even if his offensive game doesn’t continue to develop, according to Fedor.
Still, Fedor runs through several of the options available to Cleveland, identifying Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., Doug McDermott, Luke Kennard, Royce O’Neale, and Hamidou Diallo as some potential players of interest, though most of them come with some caveats.
Sources tell Cleveland.com that there are mixed feelings within the Cavaliers’ front office about Knicks forward Cam Reddish, who is considered more of a fall-back option. Reddish has talent and untapped potential, but he’ll be a free agent in a matter of months and isn’t a clear upgrade on what the team already has at small forward, Fedor explains.
Fedor adds that Trail Blazers forward Josh Hart is one player who is high on the Cavaliers’ list of targets, writing that he has “plenty of fans” within the organization and that Cleveland explored a possible sign-and-trade for him two years ago before pivoting to Lauri Markkanen.
There’s a belief around the NBA that Hart will be on the move this week, according to Fedor, who notes that the Blazer has a similar skill set to Okoro but would bring a level of experience and consistency that the former No. 5 overall pick lacks.
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- Sources tell Cleveland.com that the Cavaliers checked in with the Celtics about forward Grant Williams, but got the sense that he’s unavailable — or would at least cost much more than the Cavs are in position to offer.
- Veteran wing Caris LeVert tells Fedor that he expects to remain a Cavalier through Thursday’s trade deadline. If LeVert does stick around, Cleveland would be interested in signing him beyond this season, assuming the price isn’t exorbitant, Fedor writes.
- Although there’s no indication that he’s on the trade block, it’s worth noting that veteran forward Kevin Love has fallen out of the Cavs’ rotation as of late to make room for Dean Wade. Love, who hasn’t played since January 24, had a conversation about his role with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, tweets Fedor.
I’d honestly be cool with Okoro as the starting 3 for the Cavs, so long as he keeps playing well. He really is just that good at defense. I’m much more concerned that Love isn’t playing at all. I know he wasn’t all that good earlier this year, but he was dealing with injury basically the whole time, and he was a 6MOY finalist last year. What’s going on there?
While Love dealing with injury Dean Wade was playing good defense and hitting .407 from deep.
He has, but he also shoots at half the volume that Love does. He didn’t even attempt a field goal last night in over 25 minutes of action. And the Cavs desperately need more offense from the bench. They were able to coexist last year for long stretches, even on the floor at the same time. What’s changed?
“Love, who hasn’t played since January 24, had a conversation about his role with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, tweets Fedor.”
His role??? Keep collecting that sweet paycheck that the Cavs “gifted him” years ago…and do whatever they ask him to do, including sit at the end of the bench.
Why u hating on Love and eyeballing his pockets/paychecks… He was given that contract, he didn’t hold out or punk them to give out that contract… Cavs had to keep and pay someone from that 2016 team, while they tank and stack those picks to get them where they are today…
Celtics should be doing their best to move Grant Williams.
Okoro is better than Reddish.
Cavs only have 2nds and a 24 swap to make a deal. Any takers for Love and a bunch of 2s to make an upgrade?
Maybe the LA Lakers would like Love to salary-dump Westbrook?
Only “realistic” option then is Levert + Love for Westbrook. But that doesnt sound all that appealing for cleveland, as they might want to keep Levert indeed. It would only make sense if they plan to use Westbrook rather than go for a buy-out.
They are below the luxury tax line, so also for that reason it does not make much sense.
It should should be pointed out again that Okoro is shooting 50 percent on 3’s in the last 18 games! He is our 3 and D guy!
The Cavs are in a tough spot… Fun but not quite a contender…
It feels as if they are one move away from it..
Cavs will lose the kid they just got from Utah at some point before his contract is up.
Nobody willingly wants to come to Cleveland – or stay.
Mitchell will be fine as long as the Cavs are winning. I don’t think the Cavs are quite there yet but they’re very close. Give Mobley and Okoro a little more time to develop then they’ll be going toe to toe with Boston and Milwaukee. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see them hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy at some point in the next few seasons.
Okay Joakim Noah.
Lol
You don’t trade Kevin Love – a cornerstone, culture identity, leader, winning experience, champuonship experience. Cavs shouldn’t get too gteedy about more pieces- they would be Better consolidating what they already have, which is a lot, and more, if You think how the Franchise was a couple years algo, before Garland’s emergence and the Allen trade.
CLE’s trade issue in getting a SF isn’t finding a matching contract (they have plenty of options there). It’s finding a contract that a trade partner would find more valuable than the contract they’re giving up for it; that, of course, could be because the contract they’re giving is a bad contract that isn’t expiring. But that affects next year and thus their flexibility in the off season. Best bet is probably to just to roll with Okoro, and pick up a shooter to backstop him (if they can) for a remote 2nd or in the buyout market.