Cavaliers Trade Rumors: Analyzing Latest Efforts to Upgrade Before Deadline
The reprieve to watch LeBron James dominate the All-Star Game was nice, but now the gloves are back off for the Cleveland Cavaliers as the deadline approaches.
The front office never took a breather.
Things are good for the Cavaliers coming out of the break. The team sits in the fifth seed of the Eastern Conference and hardly outside of serious upward movement in the standings. The Cavs are winners in eight of their last 10. Drama surrounding head coach David Blatt and anything else is on mute.
But the front office knows better than to sit on its hands this time of year. Blatt's rotations need more productive depth, something that continues to shine through as more rumblings come to light.
As the deadline nears, there are a few key factors to keep an eye on when it comes to potential Cavaliers moves.
Big Man on the Move
Things have hit a point where it is easy to forget that Brendan Haywood is even on Cleveland's roster.
The 35-year-old veteran averages all of 5.1 minutes this year, with the staff going out of its way to avoid giving him playing time regardless of score, situation and eventual outcome.
As Chris Haynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer points out, the staff would rather go small than go with Haywood:
Of course, some of this surely has to do with the team's desire to move his contract. He must be healthy in order to ship away, after all.
Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal details the apparent line of thought in Cleveland:
"It’s apparent by now Brendan Haywood has nothing left. At least the Cavs believe he’s done. But they need him around for his contract to use in trade either in the coming days or this summer. Haywood as an option on the floor, however, apparently no longer exists."
The appeal to Haywood for any potential suitor is the contract. It's an odd one that counts as a $10.5 million cap hit next year, per Spotrac, but is one any team can get out of with ease.
A team with a need for future cap space figures to come calling about Haywood, but as the next nugget shows, the Cavaliers will only move the big man for the right piece to their ideal championship puzzle.
The Hunt for Depth
The aforementioned missing piece seems to be a rotational point guard.
Kyrie Irving has been exceptional this year, putting up a 21.7/5.3/3.3 slash line and shooting 47 percent from the field, nearly his career high. The problem is, he also averages a ridiculous 37.7 minutes per game, easily a career high.
According to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst, the Cavaliers want to upgrade the depth behind Irving, perhaps by offering Haywood in a potential deal:
"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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Considering Matthew Dellavedova posts just 4.2/2.9/1.8 at this stage of the season, the hunting on the market for a veteran point guard makes sense.
It's interesting that Jameer Nelson is the name to monitor. Now 33 years old, Nelson knows a thing or two about serious title contention, a role off the bench and packing his bags and family and moving around.
Nelson averages 7.5/4.5/2.6 on 21.7 minutes per game and is a big name on the trade block at this point, per Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
If the Cavaliers can score Nelson or another veteran at a cheap cost, it would be a major win. A spot in the postseason is one thing—the depth to counteract the best teams in the league is another conversation entirely.
Like any move the Cavaliers still figure to pull off, don't expect anything concrete to come to fruition until right at the deadline. At the very least, the potential names involved are seemingly public knowledge.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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