Trade Ideas

[KuruptedCav]

Stevens has a role because defensive versatility at the end of the bench is always useful.

I’m not a Windler believer. I like his shot and his game, I don’t believe he will ever be consistently healthy.

Okoro is the starting SG now and going forward. But he is a work in progress. Which is why I like the idea of a high end backup SG for the next two years while he does that. I’d be fine with ripping up the QO and extending Sexton 2 years and $25-$30 mil; I’d be okay trading for Josh Richardson or a host of other players with 1-2 years left.

I’m not a Markkanen fan as starting SF. When he plays with Allen/Mobley/Okoro/Garland there’s no secondary facilitator. When he plays with Love, Love is a good passer, but the defense suffers. Long-term I think he’s the swing forward once Love is moved.


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[JonFromVA]

Stevens and Okoro are a bit redundant as players so Im not sure where they go when Okoro/Stevens/Windler are all healthy. I feel like if they make a trade it would be to consolidate that rotation a bit.

Obv. with Okoros draft status, higher ceiling and better on-ball defense he gets the nod over Stevens. The difference is that Windlers skillset opens up the game a lot more and makes the 2nd unit a bit more dynamic than Stevens.

There are even guys like Wade who have been relegated to the bench though he is proven to be a very solid rotation player essentially assuming Nance's role from 3 years ago.

The question is when you have that many C+/B- level players what do you do at the deadline?

Fortunately I'm not Koby Altman and it's not my job to make the tough choices; so, my take is a bit of a cop out in that I'd look for a move that uses spare parts to add a rotational piece that improves our depth by pushing what we have down a step.

By spare parts, I mean any of our trade exceptions, Rubio's contract, and any of our 3 picks in the next draft. And then depending on the player we're getting back we can consider including other assets if we feel the move makes them redundant.

In reality we may have to lose a guy we like, and if we do, we'll grump about it ... but time will tell. For instance, I wouldn't trade Isaac for Josh Hart, but I'd consider Stevens if we could scrape together the filler. Stevens is under contract for super cheap the next two seasons, so a cheap owner might appreciate that. Funny Hart never developed as a 3pt shooter like we all thought he would when he was a rook, but per usual the Lakers-hype train was off the rails.

I wouldnt mind it but there is just still so much more development to be had. Watching Okoro put Kyrie in hell during the 4th yesterday and SGA the game before made me giddy. He just has elite on-ball defensive capability that not many players in the NBA possess.

How do you get rid of that potential especially if he develops a league average offensive game, he then would be the absolute perfect backcourt mate to Garlands skillset.

Im also a massive supporter of locking Rubio up to a 3/55 deal this offseason. I dont want to put him in any deal because guys with his skillset and intangibles dont come around nearly as often as 3/D wings do. There may be 3-4 players in the entire NBA who can bring what Rubio brings to this team from the PG position and they all cost a helluva lot more than a average vet contract. You NEED Rubio next to Garland simply because of how much this team invested into their bigs who need setup.

The more and more I think about it, I would be fine with riding out the roster as is and letting another year of development happen before pulling the trigger on any trade. Sexton + 1st is about the only assets (aside from randoms like Stevens/Wade/Windler) I would be content moving in a trade for a Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes, ect type of guy.

Anything else seems like making a move for the sake of making a move.

I'm in no rush to trade Isaac, but I do think we have an opportunity to add a player who just might help us win a playoff series against an opponent that's able to force someone other than Garland to create or someone other than Garland/Markkenen to shoot 3's.

As for Ricky, technically we can trade him and then turn around and sign him again as a free-agent. We wouldn't have his Bird rights and we'd risk pissing him off, but maybe that's partially where the Calderon hiring comes in to play? But nobody knows how he's going to play after his second operation on the same knee until he returns or even exactly when he'll be able to play again at whatever becomes his new 100%.

And while Dan always liked a splashy trade, don't be surprised if Altman does something more off-the-radar. I mean, we all knew Rondo, but who knew the Lakers were going to dump him to save cash? I doubt many of us knew who Hartenstein was before Altman snagged him as filler in the McGee trade. Lots of fans thought were were idiots for trading for Markkenan and Rubio.

So, maybe we don't get one of the "big names" for our scraps; but that's not necessarily a bad thing if we can find a lower visibility player that fills some of the same needs and fits better with the long-term goals of the team. Maybe we get two players, one's a salary dump that might help us in the short term and/or turn in to another expiring next year, and the other guy is the true goal of the trade.

[toooskies]

Stevens and Okoro are a bit redundant as players so Im not sure where they go when Okoro/Stevens/Windler are all healthy. I feel like if they make a trade it would be to consolidate that rotation a bit.

Obv. with Okoros draft status, higher ceiling and better on-ball defense he gets the nod over Stevens. The difference is that Windlers skillset opens up the game a lot more and makes the 2nd unit a bit more dynamic than Stevens.

There are even guys like Wade who have been relegated to the bench though he is proven to be a very solid rotation player essentially assuming Nance's role from 3 years ago.

The question is when you have that many C+/B- level players what do you do at the deadline?

Fortunately I'm not Koby Altman and it's not my job to make the tough choices; so, my take is a bit of a cop out in that I'd look for a move that uses spare parts to add a rotational piece that improves our depth by pushing what we have down a step.

By spare parts, I mean any of our trade exceptions, Rubio's contract, and any of our 3 picks in the next draft. And then depending on the player we're getting back we can consider including other assets if we feel the move makes them redundant.

In reality we may have to lose a guy we like, and if we do, we'll grump about it ... but time will tell. For instance, I wouldn't trade Isaac for Josh Hart, but I'd consider Stevens if we could scrape together the filler. Stevens is under contract for super cheap the next two seasons, so a cheap owner might appreciate that. Funny Hart never developed as a 3pt shooter like we all thought he would when he was a rook, but per usual the Lakers-hype train was off the rails.

I wouldnt mind it but there is just still so much more development to be had. Watching Okoro put Kyrie in hell during the 4th yesterday and SGA the game before made me giddy. He just has elite on-ball defensive capability that not many players in the NBA possess.

How do you get rid of that potential especially if he develops a league average offensive game, he then would be the absolute perfect backcourt mate to Garlands skillset.

Im also a massive supporter of locking Rubio up to a 3/55 deal this offseason. I dont want to put him in any deal because guys with his skillset and intangibles dont come around nearly as often as 3/D wings do. There may be 3-4 players in the entire NBA who can bring what Rubio brings to this team from the PG position and they all cost a helluva lot more than a average vet contract. You NEED Rubio next to Garland simply because of how much this team invested into their bigs who need setup.

The more and more I think about it, I would be fine with riding out the roster as is and letting another year of development happen before pulling the trigger on any trade. Sexton + 1st is about the only assets (aside from randoms like Stevens/Wade/Windler) I would be content moving in a trade for a Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes, ect type of guy.

Anything else seems like making a move for the sake of making a move.

The Cavs right now are projected by multiple systems (basketball-reference.com's rest-of-season predictor and fivethirtyeight's ELO rest-of-season projector) to be at the top of the east in wins. ESPN's BPI projector has us 2nd. There's reason to doubt that'll actually happen (i.e. Kyrie helping Brooklyn, the Heat and Bulls getting healthy, Philly possibly getting some value out of Simmons, Milwaukee putting it all together, etc.), but the Cavs are starting a game and a half back of the #1 seed and have the easiest schedule. They're in this race and can win it.

This Cavs team might be one of the top seeds in the east this year, but they might not win a playoff series because of predictable team flaws. Only one player who reliably can get his own shot off the dribble, now that Rubio and Sexton are injured. Teams can pressure Garland and make somebody else make a play. And there's no one else who can do that all the time.

All of that is to say, if there's one move to make to solidify this team's chances of competing, which is almost certainly about finding a secondary playmaker, I'm all for leveraging Rubio's contract and 1-2 other pieces to find a guy to be a secondary playmaker. And if we spend a lot to get a top 50 veteran NBA player who's "overpaid" but a productivity upgrade, fine.

[JonFromVA]

Fortunately I'm not Koby Altman and it's not my job to make the tough choices; so, my take is a bit of a cop out in that I'd look for a move that uses spare parts to add a rotational piece that improves our depth by pushing what we have down a step.

By spare parts, I mean any of our trade exceptions, Rubio's contract, and any of our 3 picks in the next draft. And then depending on the player we're getting back we can consider including other assets if we feel the move makes them redundant.

In reality we may have to lose a guy we like, and if we do, we'll grump about it ... but time will tell. For instance, I wouldn't trade Isaac for Josh Hart, but I'd consider Stevens if we could scrape together the filler. Stevens is under contract for super cheap the next two seasons, so a cheap owner might appreciate that. Funny Hart never developed as a 3pt shooter like we all thought he would when he was a rook, but per usual the Lakers-hype train was off the rails.

I wouldnt mind it but there is just still so much more development to be had. Watching Okoro put Kyrie in hell during the 4th yesterday and SGA the game before made me giddy. He just has elite on-ball defensive capability that not many players in the NBA possess.

How do you get rid of that potential especially if he develops a league average offensive game, he then would be the absolute perfect backcourt mate to Garlands skillset.

Im also a massive supporter of locking Rubio up to a 3/55 deal this offseason. I dont want to put him in any deal because guys with his skillset and intangibles dont come around nearly as often as 3/D wings do. There may be 3-4 players in the entire NBA who can bring what Rubio brings to this team from the PG position and they all cost a helluva lot more than a average vet contract. You NEED Rubio next to Garland simply because of how much this team invested into their bigs who need setup.

The more and more I think about it, I would be fine with riding out the roster as is and letting another year of development happen before pulling the trigger on any trade. Sexton + 1st is about the only assets (aside from randoms like Stevens/Wade/Windler) I would be content moving in a trade for a Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes, ect type of guy.

Anything else seems like making a move for the sake of making a move.

The Cavs right now are projected by multiple systems (basketball-reference.com's rest-of-season predictor and fivethirtyeight's ELO rest-of-season projector) to be at the top of the east in wins. ESPN's BPI projector has us 2nd. There's reason to doubt that'll actually happen (i.e. Kyrie helping Brooklyn, the Heat and Bulls getting healthy, Philly possibly getting some value out of Simmons, Milwaukee putting it all together, etc.), but the Cavs are starting a game and a half back of the #1 seed and have the easiest schedule. They're in this race and can win it.

This Cavs team might be one of the top seeds in the east this year, but they might not win a playoff series because of predictable team flaws. Only one player who reliably can get his own shot off the dribble, now that Rubio and Sexton are injured. Teams can pressure Garland and make somebody else make a play. And there's no one else who can do that all the time.

All of that is to say, if there's one move to make to solidify this team's chances of competing, which is almost certainly about finding a secondary playmaker, I'm all for leveraging Rubio's contract and 1-2 other pieces to find a guy to be a secondary playmaker. And if we spend a lot to get a top 50 veteran NBA player who's "overpaid" but a productivity upgrade, fine.

The BBR predictor is just looking at things like margin of victory and strength of opponent it doesn't know Kyrie is playing away games or that Durant is out.

Everybody is dealing with Covid and injuries.

What the predictor's love is that we have a magical combo of a really nice net rating (+5.3 at the moment) and a schedule that was hard and is expected to get easy. Not to mention, our offensive rating has risen to 11th while our defensive rating is still 3rd.

So, by all the important measures ... the Cavs are TRUE CONTENDERS. The Heat should give us a run for #1, and the Bucks are still pretty strong but have fallen of quite a bit from last season.

Sure, stuff can happen ... we can suffer injuries that tank the team, or other teams can get healthy and go on a run, but we've already bounced back multiple times this season. We're in great ship to win the East

[KuruptedCav]

Getting bounced isn’t necessarily a bad thing; blowing your wad on Donyell Marshall, Damon Jones, and Larry Hughes is…

Letting Danny Green walk to add Manny Harris because the Cavs need a playmaker, Smdh.


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[jbk1234]

Stevens has a role because defensive versatility at the end of the bench is always useful.

I’m not a Windler believer. I like his shot and his game, I don’t believe he will ever be consistently healthy.

Okoro is the starting SG now and going forward. But he is a work in progress. Which is why I like the idea of a high end backup SG for the next two years while he does that. I’d be fine with ripping up the QO and extending Sexton 2 years and $25-$30 mil; I’d be okay trading for Josh Richardson or a host of other players with 1-2 years left.

I’m not a Markkanen fan as starting SF. When he plays with Allen/Mobley/Okoro/Garland there’s no secondary facilitator. When he plays with Love, Love is a good passer, but the defense suffers. Long-term I think he’s the swing forward once Love is moved.


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Cedi is kinda, sorta a secondary facilitator. It ain't always pretty though. We saw all of two games with Rondo and Goodwin seems pretty solid. Honestly, the absence of that type of guy only seems like a problem for about 5 minutes a game tops and I worry that if you bring in someone to play 20 minutes, that's 15 minutes of development time that won't be available to guys who are currently benefitting from it. It really needs to be the right player to justify trade assets, future cap space, and the development opportunity costs, versus just a player who can do some of those things. I hate, hate, hate the idea of the Cavs trading for LeVert, and if they actually give up something of value to get him, beyond the $18M in cap space they'd be sacrificing, I'm going to be concerned about the judgment of the F.O.

I like J. Rich, but unless the Celtics go on a losing streak before the deadline, I don't see them making him available for anything reasonable. I have him as the fourth best player on that team although I could hear the argument as to Smart (whose extension was a mistake).

I go back and forth on Lauri. There are times when it looks like we're starting to figure it out with him, and there are times when it's clunky. It's very difficult to find a good two-way SF. They're the most coveted players in the NBA. I'm worried the Cavs might do what the Browns do when they reach for a QB with a third-round grade after trading up to the back end of the first round to get him. You still don't have a starting QB and you don't have all the picks/players you traded to reach.

[jbk1234]

This has probably been the most enjoyable season to watch as a fan since LBJ's first stint here. That said, what will hold this team back in the playoffs will be inexperience among the core guys and an all-in trade that negatively impacts the next 2-3 years won't change that, it will just negatively impact the next 2-3 years. Too many critical guys are green and I really don't see a trade changing that before April.

[johnnyballgame]

Any chance Kings would accept Love, Rubio, Sexton or Love Rubio Sexton and a first or Love, Rubio and two firsts for Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes?

Its hard to understand what the Kings are doing but rumor is these guys are for sale.
If above deals are no good, would including Markannen instead of Rubio or Sexton get it done?

I think the Cavs get a lot better.

[KuruptedCav]

This has probably been the most enjoyable season to watch as a fan since LBJ's first stint here. That said, what will hold this team back in the playoffs will be inexperience among the core guys and an all-in trade that negatively impacts the next 2-3 years won't change that, it will just negatively impact the next 2-3 years. Too many critical guys are green and I really don't see a trade changing that before April.

Agreed on all accounts; three rotation players have playoff experience (Allen, Love, and Osman); for many, this is the first or second time in their lives they are playing high leverage basketball.

Cavs have an owner who will not shy from the luxury tax or the repeater tax for a winner. But, going there before necessary limits the MLE and flexibility in trades.

Finally, value is generally better in the off-season when you have fewer roster/luxury tax issues to manage; and there are market opportunities for people to talk themselves into, and opportunities to replace the player you trade.


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[johnnyballgame]

Love, Markannen and Sexton and a first for Hield and Barnes and Tristan
Then send Rubio and Windier or a first to Pacers for Levert

Allen, Mobley, Tristan, Barnes, Hield, Levert, Okoro, Garland, Cedi

Why wouldn't the Kings or Pacers do it?

Might even be stronger defensively. Definitely add scoring punch.
Got lots of needed wing players and bigs who can switch.

Only thing left to do is for Altman to pay my finders fee.

[JonFromVA]

This has probably been the most enjoyable season to watch as a fan since LBJ's first stint here. That said, what will hold this team back in the playoffs will be inexperience among the core guys and an all-in trade that negatively impacts the next 2-3 years won't change that, it will just negatively impact the next 2-3 years. Too many critical guys are green and I really don't see a trade changing that before April.

Experience is a factor that's relative to the teams and coaches we have to face. LeBron ruled the East for 4 straight years because not one team in the East was built to stop him.

The Cavs time to start thinking about how to matchup and beat playoff teams is now.

[toooskies]

This has probably been the most enjoyable season to watch as a fan since LBJ's first stint here. That said, what will hold this team back in the playoffs will be inexperience among the core guys and an all-in trade that negatively impacts the next 2-3 years won't change that, it will just negatively impact the next 2-3 years. Too many critical guys are green and I really don't see a trade changing that before April.

No, the thing that will hold this team back is having glaringly obvious weaknesses like only having single playmaker and exploiting the Markkanen matchup by forcing switches. What isn't worth figuring out for one regular season game will be picked apart in a series.

The Westbrook/KD Thunder weren't held back by inexperience, they actually did the best pretty early in their run. Golden State wasn't held back by inexperience, they made noise in the playoffs in their breakout year.

Starving the roster to make a free agency splash in two years when they're "ready" while not filling some obvious holes is the path to wasting the cheap years of all-star caliber players.

[jbk1234]

This has probably been the most enjoyable season to watch as a fan since LBJ's first stint here. That said, what will hold this team back in the playoffs will be inexperience among the core guys and an all-in trade that negatively impacts the next 2-3 years won't change that, it will just negatively impact the next 2-3 years. Too many critical guys are green and I really don't see a trade changing that before April.

No, the thing that will hold this team back is having glaringly obvious weaknesses like only having single playmaker and exploiting the Markkanen matchup by forcing switches. What isn't worth figuring out for one regular season game will be picked apart in a series.

The Westbrook/KD Thunder weren't held back by inexperience, they actually did the best pretty early in their run. Golden State wasn't held back by inexperience, they made noise in the playoffs in their breakout year.

Starving the roster to make a free agency splash in two years when they're "ready" while not filling some obvious holes is the path to wasting the cheap years of all-star caliber players.

Harden went out of his way to get switched onto Allen in the 4th quarter despite the fact that Lauri was on him. He did it to get Allen away from the rim. At least two of the most egregious foul calls were on Allen. Lauri did a decent job on Harden tbh.

Mobley's going to be a stud but he shrinks from contact when things get really physical. He still has rookie decision making moments. That's going to be an issue in the postseason regardless of whether the Cavs make a trade. The fact that neither Garland nor Allen have playoff experience isn't getting fixed by a trade either.

We're not getting Ingram or Brown for anything the Cavs should be willing to give up, so any move we make is going to come with tradeoffs. CJ is a bad defender. LeVert can't shoot, is ball dominant, and is a meh defender. Gordon is fine, but I'm skeptical hes good enough at 33 on both ends of the floor to actually win a series we'd otherwise lose.

If the Celtics are open to moving J. Rich for lesser assets, that's the type of move I could get on board with.

[KuruptedCav]

Love, Markannen and Sexton and a first for Hield and Barnes and Tristan
Then send Rubio and Windier or a first to Pacers for Levert

Allen, Mobley, Tristan, Barnes, Hield, Levert, Okoro, Garland, Cedi

Why wouldn't the Kings or Pacers do it?

Might even be stronger defensively. Definitely add scoring punch.
Got lots of needed wing players and bigs who can switch.

Only thing left to do is for Altman to pay my finders fee.

1) Sacramento never goes for that. They have less than no use for Sexton because of Fox, Haliburton and Mitchell. If they wanted Sexton, they’d keep Hield at his relatively affordable contract and positional flexibility.

You have them taking on a ton of extra money without any real compensation.

2) Indiana takes it and runs.

3) Cavs will be deep into the tax here, not have a tradable pick until 2026. I’m not a fan.


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[jbk1234]

Any chance Kings would accept Love, Rubio, Sexton or Love Rubio Sexton and a first or Love, Rubio and two firsts for Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes?

Its hard to understand what the Kings are doing but rumor is these guys are for sale.
If above deals are no good, would including Markannen instead of Rubio or Sexton get it done?

I think the Cavs get a lot better.

I'd do Love, Rubio, and Sexton for Barnes and Heild, but that's it. Not adding firsts, taking back TT, or subbing Lauri

[jbk1234]

This has probably been the most enjoyable season to watch as a fan since LBJ's first stint here. That said, what will hold this team back in the playoffs will be inexperience among the core guys and an all-in trade that negatively impacts the next 2-3 years won't change that, it will just negatively impact the next 2-3 years. Too many critical guys are green and I really don't see a trade changing that before April.

Experience is a factor that's relative to the teams and coaches we have to face. LeBron ruled the East for 4 straight years because not one team in the East was built to stop him.

The Cavs time to start thinking about how to matchup and beat playoff teams is now.

You have to know what you have before you know what you need. I'm seeing growth on a weekly basis.

Moreover, I have us presently a full tier below a healthy Nets or Bucks team. I don't see a realistic trade that changes that. The good news for the Cavs is that some of their key players are nearing the end of their prime as to where our key guys haven't even begun theirs.

[toooskies]

This has probably been the most enjoyable season to watch as a fan since LBJ's first stint here. That said, what will hold this team back in the playoffs will be inexperience among the core guys and an all-in trade that negatively impacts the next 2-3 years won't change that, it will just negatively impact the next 2-3 years. Too many critical guys are green and I really don't see a trade changing that before April.

No, the thing that will hold this team back is having glaringly obvious weaknesses like only having single playmaker and exploiting the Markkanen matchup by forcing switches. What isn't worth figuring out for one regular season game will be picked apart in a series.

The Westbrook/KD Thunder weren't held back by inexperience, they actually did the best pretty early in their run. Golden State wasn't held back by inexperience, they made noise in the playoffs in their breakout year.

Starving the roster to make a free agency splash in two years when they're "ready" while not filling some obvious holes is the path to wasting the cheap years of all-star caliber players.

Harden went out of his way to get switched onto Allen in the 4th quarter despite the fact that Lauri was on him. He did it to get Allen away from the rim. At least two of the most egregious foul calls were on Allen. Lauri did a decent job on Harden tbh.

Mobley's going to be a stud but he shrinks from contact when things get really physical. He still has rookie decision making moments. That's going to be an issue in the postseason regardless of whether the Cavs make a trade. The fact that neither Garland nor Allen have playoff experience isn't getting fixed by a trade either.

We're not getting Ingram or Brown for anything the Cavs should be willing to give up, so any move we make is going to come with tradeoffs. CJ is a bad defender. LeVert can't shoot, is ball dominant, and is a meh defender. Gordon is fine, but I'm skeptical hes good enough at 33 on both ends of the floor to actually win a series we'd otherwise lose.

If the Celtics are open to moving J. Rich for lesser assets, that's the type of move I could get on board with.

Every player has flaws and I'd rather not land in the LeVert zone or the J Rich zone honestly. But we need a plan when Garland gets pressured at half court or just gets exhausted from carrying the whole offense on his back when the other team starts focusing on wearing him out on defense too like the Cavs tried to with Curry back in the day.

It's not going to be about Mobley not being ready or the Cavs being too young, it's going to be because Sexton tore his meniscus and Ricky Rubio tore his ACL and our response so far has been a salary dump from the team with the most cash flow in the league and a player from the Westchester Knicks.

Find a good medium-term answer that will look fine as a 4th or 5th starter on a championship contender in 2-3 years (assuming player development from Garland and Mobley in particular) and if you have to overpay to make it happen, do it.

[LivingLegend]

Stevens has a role because defensive versatility at the end of the bench is always useful.

I’m not a Windler believer. I like his shot and his game, I don’t believe he will ever be consistently healthy.

Okoro is the starting SG now and going forward. But he is a work in progress. Which is why I like the idea of a high end backup SG for the next two years while he does that. I’d be fine with ripping up the QO and extending Sexton 2 years and $25-$30 mil; I’d be okay trading for Josh Richardson or a host of other players with 1-2 years left.

I’m not a Markkanen fan as starting SF. When he plays with Allen/Mobley/Okoro/Garland there’s no secondary facilitator. When he plays with Love, Love is a good passer, but the defense suffers. Long-term I think he’s the swing forward once Love is moved.


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Cedi is kinda, sorta a secondary facilitator. It ain't always pretty though. We saw all of two games with Rondo and Goodwin seems pretty solid. Honestly, the absence of that type of guy only seems like a problem for about 5 minutes a game tops and I worry that if you bring in someone to play 20 minutes, that's 15 minutes of development time that won't be available to guys who are currently benefitting from it. It really needs to be the right player to justify trade assets, future cap space, and the development opportunity costs, versus just a player who can do some of those things. I hate, hate, hate the idea of the Cavs trading for LeVert, and if they actually give up something of value to get him, beyond the $18M in cap space they'd be sacrificing, I'm going to be concerned about the judgment of the F.O.

I like J. Rich, but unless the Celtics go on a losing streak before the deadline, I don't see them making him available for anything reasonable. I have him as the fourth best player on that team although I could hear the argument as to Smart (whose extension was a mistake).

I go back and forth on Lauri. There are times when it looks like we're starting to figure it out with him, and there are times when it's clunky. It's very difficult to find a good two-way SF. They're the most coveted players in the NBA. I'm worried the Cavs might do what the Browns do when they reach for a QB with a third-round grade after trading up to the back end of the first round to get him. You still don't have a starting QB and you don't have all the picks/players you traded to reach.

That player sounds like Harrison Barnes lol But I have no idea how we match salaries to make it work. Our trade assets (Rubio/Sexton) the Kings are flooded with guards already so they have no use for them.

Eric Gordon would be awesome but his contract is insane.

Those 2 (Barnes/Gordon) would be perfect fits IMO for what we are looking for when it comes to making a legitimate run.

I just googled some buyout candidates:

Thad Young
RoCo
Larry Nance lol
Torrey Craig
Dragic
Ben McLemore

[jbk1234]

No, the thing that will hold this team back is having glaringly obvious weaknesses like only having single playmaker and exploiting the Markkanen matchup by forcing switches. What isn't worth figuring out for one regular season game will be picked apart in a series.

The Westbrook/KD Thunder weren't held back by inexperience, they actually did the best pretty early in their run. Golden State wasn't held back by inexperience, they made noise in the playoffs in their breakout year.

Starving the roster to make a free agency splash in two years when they're "ready" while not filling some obvious holes is the path to wasting the cheap years of all-star caliber players.

Harden went out of his way to get switched onto Allen in the 4th quarter despite the fact that Lauri was on him. He did it to get Allen away from the rim. At least two of the most egregious foul calls were on Allen. Lauri did a decent job on Harden tbh.

Mobley's going to be a stud but he shrinks from contact when things get really physical. He still has rookie decision making moments. That's going to be an issue in the postseason regardless of whether the Cavs make a trade. The fact that neither Garland nor Allen have playoff experience isn't getting fixed by a trade either.

We're not getting Ingram or Brown for anything the Cavs should be willing to give up, so any move we make is going to come with tradeoffs. CJ is a bad defender. LeVert can't shoot, is ball dominant, and is a meh defender. Gordon is fine, but I'm skeptical hes good enough at 33 on both ends of the floor to actually win a series we'd otherwise lose.

If the Celtics are open to moving J. Rich for lesser assets, that's the type of move I could get on board with.

Every player has flaws and I'd rather not land in the LeVert zone or the J Rich zone honestly. But we need a plan when Garland gets pressured at half court or just gets exhausted from carrying the whole offense on his back when the other team starts focusing on wearing him out on defense too like the Cavs tried to with Curry back in the day.

It's not going to be about Mobley not being ready or the Cavs being too young, it's going to be because Sexton tore his meniscus and Ricky Rubio tore his ACL and our response so far has been a salary dump from the team with the most cash flow in the league and a player from the Westchester Knicks.

Find a good medium-term answer that will look fine as a 4th or 5th starter on a championship contender in 2-3 years (assuming player development from Garland and Mobley in particular) and if you have to overpay to make it happen, do it.

Well, you're really asking for two different players here, or you're asking for someone who can run an offense out of the SF position and those guys just aren't available. Personally, I think there's a really good chance that Okoro is a better option at the 2 before the end of his 3rd season than anything you'll find in the trade market this season.

I get wanting to upgrade the SF position, but if you're going to overpay, you better be getting a clear upgrade and not just trading one set of problems for another, or making a marginal upgrade that won't actually move the needle in the postseason.

[JonFromVA]

This has probably been the most enjoyable season to watch as a fan since LBJ's first stint here. That said, what will hold this team back in the playoffs will be inexperience among the core guys and an all-in trade that negatively impacts the next 2-3 years won't change that, it will just negatively impact the next 2-3 years. Too many critical guys are green and I really don't see a trade changing that before April.

Experience is a factor that's relative to the teams and coaches we have to face. LeBron ruled the East for 4 straight years because not one team in the East was built to stop him.

The Cavs time to start thinking about how to matchup and beat playoff teams is now.

You have to know what you have before you know what you need. I'm seeing growth on a weekly basis.

Moreover, I have us presently a full tier below a healthy Nets or Bucks team. I don't see a realistic trade that changes that. The good news for the Cavs is that some of their key players are nearing the end of their prime as to where our key guys haven't even begun theirs.

When was the last time health wasn't a factor in determining the champ?

As for tiers, playoffs are the crucible that determine those and they sway on matchups and roster flaws. If we patch ours up, at least we get an honest look.

The Pistons thought they were tiers above us when we beat them to make the finals, but simply failed to grasp what Ben Wallace meant to their ability to slow down LeBron. The Spurs swept us, but each game was close. What if Hughes' foot didn't fall apart? There's a reason Tony Parker won FMVP ...