Cavaliers Rumors: Trade, Free-Agent Buzz on Ray Allen, Jameer Nelson, More

The Cleveland Cavaliers entered All-Star Weekend on a sour note with a 15-point loss to the Chicago Bulls, but having only lost twice since Jan. 15, this team is one of the best of the Eastern Conference. That doesn't mean that there isn't still room to improve before the trade deadline, though.

Cleveland has already made a few moves to add to its depth during the season. Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov have been integral components of the team's recent success, showing the value of midseason acquisitions for a team with the star power in place to make waves.

Not all acquisitions come in the form of trades, even though that's how the organization has operated thus far. There are a few free agents who can help the Cavs as well.

Below, you'll find some recent chatter on a few of the team's potential targets.

Ray Allen

Great teams have great shooters. The Golden State Warriors have Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, and the Atlanta Hawks have Kyle Korver. The Cavaliers already have Kyrie Irving, but one of the game's all-time best snipers is still a free agent.

Ray Allen has yet to even decide if he'll play this season, but the Cavs are an obvious fit should he choose to lace up his sneakers for one more shot at a title.

"The Cavs have been in contact with Ray Allen’s camp in recent days," reports Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, "but still no decision has been made on where (or even if) Allen will play this season. It remains possible Allen has played his last NBA game."

A career 40 percent shooter from downtown, Allen would instantly add a weapon to the Cavs. Coming off the bench, Allen's role would simply be to provide instant offense in clutch situations—something he is no stranger to providing.

Of course, Allen's signing is really more of a playoff-minded one than a deal solely for the regular season. The remaining games on the schedule would effectively serve as a tuneup for Allen before the bright lights of the postseason call for him to play more high-leverage minutes.

Signing Allen would effectively bump Matthew Dellavedova out of the rotation, as Shumpert would be asked to play mostly behind Kyrie Irving at the point to create room for the 39-year-old in a shooting guard rotation that features Smith and Joe Harris.

This is a no-brainer move for the Cavs if they can convince Allen to come back for another run.

Jameer Nelson

If the Cavs are unsure of their ability to sign Allen, then Denver Nuggets point guard Jameer Nelson might also be an option. ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst reports that he's already on the team's radar.

"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," he writes. "One player they've targeted is the Denver Nuggets' veteran, Jameer Nelson, who has already been traded twice this season."

Nelson, 33, is a career 37.2 percent shooter from beyond the arc. That's not up to par with Allen's incredible percentage, but it still puts him among the better-shooting reserve guards in the league. Of course, he hasn't shot better than 34.8 percent (2013-14) in the past three seasons.

Cleveland has Irving, a score-first point guard, leading the starting unit. Bringing in a pass-first point guard like Nelson would solidify the second unit and allow guys like LeBron James, Kevin Love and others to stand out on offense.

Denver is a guard-heavy team, and perhaps a reserve big man like Haywood could entice them. At the very least, his non-guaranteed deal is appealing.

At 20-33 in the Western Conference, Denver likely won't make a run at the playoffs this season. That would make draft picks or a non-guaranteed contract an attractive return for an aging guard.

Amar'e Stoudemire

Prior to the buyout of Amar'e Stoudemire's contract, Allen was the consensus No. 1 free agent available. General managers began to rethink that, however, as Stoudemire has proven this season that he still has plenty left in the tank.

His tank just wasn't big enough to carry the lowly New York Knicks.

The downfall of many superstar-laden teams is that the bench is often weak—hence the reported interest in guys like Nelson and Allen, as well as the acquisitions of Shumpert and Smith. So, naturally, one would have thought that Cleveland would have been interested in Stoudemire before he signed with the Dallas Mavericks, news reported by RealGM's Shams Charania.

ESPN's Marc Stein reported that the team wasn't in fact interested:

"

Cavs always on hunt for roster tweaks but I've likewise been advised they are not active suitor for Amar'e Stoudemire. Mavs remain favorite

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 16, 2015"

Dirk Nowitzki knew that his team was interested prior to the signing:

Cleveland already has four capable big men on the roster (Love, Mozgov, Tristan Thompson and Shawn Marion), but there would have been nothing wrong with adding Stoudemire.

Mike Miller, the No. 2 small forward on the roster behind King James, could easily be replaced by Marion—a small forward for much of his lengthy career. Miller is averaging just 2.4 points per game.

This would have opened up time behind Love for Stoudemire, who had been effective in limited minutes (24.0 per game) for the Knicks this season.

Nevertheless, it appears as if the Cavs are content with their current bigs on the depth chart. Stoudemire is no longer an option, and the team may not explore other moves in the near future.

Follow Kenny DeJohn on Twitter: @kennydejohn