Cavaliers Trade Rumors: Final Look at Brendan Haywood Chatter and More
The arms race in the Eastern Conference extends to off the court near the NBA trade deadline, with the Cleveland Cavaliers a central figure in that ordeal, too.
LeBron James and Co. are on fire as of late thanks to better chemistry and additions. Great, but the team's needs as Thursday's deadline looms ever closer are quite obvious.
It sounds simple. Trade away a bad contract and add another guard to take pressure off the current backcourt.
The problem is, the Cavaliers don't have a ton of tradable assets that will intrigue teams around the league, especially with much bigger names on the block potentially causing bidding wars.
Alas, similar to the looming postseason, expect the Cavaliers to be a mainstay until the bitter end.
Moves in the Paint
In theory, things look great for the Cavaliers underneath the rim.
Kevin Love is as advertised, while new arrival Timofey Mozgov and others such as Tristan Thompson offer a pretty solid platoon.
The problem is twofold. One, Love continues to fight through nagging injuries, an issue the Cavaliers cannot afford to confront head on in the postseason. Two, none of this mentions Brendan Haywood, the veteran center who is an afterthought in the team's rotation.
At 35 years old, Haywood sees the floor on an average of 5.1 minutes per night. He doesn't see action in garbage time, win or lose. Over the course of the team's last four games, he has played all of one minute.
Haywood offers a large amount of value from a contractual standpoint, though, as next year he has a $10.5 million cap hit, per Spotrac, which teams can maneuver out of due to a clause that makes it non-guaranteed if a team cuts him by a certain date.
This would explain why the Cavaliers seem to have potential trade partners in line, as Sam Amico of FoxSportsOhio.com details:
The extra note in there about Larry Sanders is interesting, but it's a moot point now that Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski revealed he does not figure to lace up for an NBA team this year.
What it does show, though, is that the Cleveland front office is serious about additional depth beneath the basket.
This is where Haywood figures to come into play at the deadline, as a rebuilding team with even something decent in this area should have an interest in Haywood's cap-clearing contract.
While not the sexiest move the Cavaliers can make, there seems to be a strong chance Haywood's time with the Cavaliers is at an end.
Backcourt Relief
Kyrie Irving needs help.
He's one of the best, but the Cavaliers continue to grind him down in a way that would make Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau blushโhe averages 37.7 minutes per game.
Much of the issue is a lack of quality depth, highlighted by Matthew Dellavedova, who averages 4.2/2.9/1.8 on 20.2 minutes a night.
This would explain, then, why another avenue the Cavaliers have explored with Haywood's contract is backcourt depth, ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst as explains:
"The issue is there isn't a whole lot of obvious recourse. In recent days, the Cavs have engaged several teams looking for a backup point guard in an attempt to upgrade from the limited Matthew Dellavedova.
They've been offering around Brendan Haywood, who has a unique contract that could make him a trade asset next summer because he has a $10 million non-guaranteed deal perfect for flipping. One player they've targeted is the Denver Nuggets' veteran, Jameer Nelson, who has already been traded twice this season.
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Jameer Nelson is an interesting example as to what the Cavaliers seek at the deadline.
He has already played for the Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets this season despite the wild ride and averages 7.5/4.5/2.6. What will fly under the radar is that not only is Nelson a 33-year-old veteran, but he comes with plenty of playoff and even championship experience.
The Nelson ship seems set for sail, though, as Wojnarowski points out in a recent writeup that the Nuggets do not plan to move him after trading for him with the intention of his sticking around.
Still, Nelson is an indication that the Cavaliers want someone they can trust to join what figures to be an eight-man rotation, the key to the team's successful run as of late.
Even if the Cavaliers remain silent through Thursday's deadline, the team may still be active on the market after.
If the Cavs want to lead the Eastern Conference instead of just being in the thick of things, they don't really have a choice.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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