Shelvin Mack Trade Rumors: Latest News, Speculation Surrounding Jazz PG

Utah Jazz point guard Shelvin Mack is generating interest ahead of the NBA's Feb. 23 trade deadline, with the reigning champion Cleveland Cavaliers emerging as a potential landing spot.

Continue for updates.

---

Cavs May Target Mack to Fill PG Void

Saturday, Jan. 28

Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported Saturday league sources said Mack is "most definitely available" and that the Cavs are considering him as an option rather than making a blockbuster deal. Stein noted they could fit him under the cap using the $4.4 million Anderson Varejao trade exception.

Mack has put together a mundane season in Utah. He's averaging 7.9 points and 2.9 assists while shooting 44.4 percent from the floor, including 31.6 percent from three-point range, in 42 games.

Whether trading for Mack would be enough to satisfy Cavaliers superstar LeBron James is unclear. The four-time Most Valuable Player has been telling anybody who will listen in recent months that the front office needs to acquire another playmaker before the playoffs.

Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post passed along pointed comments about the situation from James following Monday night's loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.

"We need a f--king playmaker," James said.

He's been banging the same drum for quite some time now, albeit usually with a more measured tone. In early January, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com relayed the forward's thoughts on the roster.

"We still got a couple more things we need to do," James said. "We gotta get a point guard. It's my last time saying it. We need a point guard."

Of course, it turned out that wasn't his last time talking about it. Now the question is whether Cavs general manager David Griffin will acquiesce to James' request before next month's deadline.

Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com provided remarks the GM made Wednesday during a meeting with the media, and he didn't commit to making a trade.

"The thing we have to do the most is get better from within," Griffin said. "This is the team we have, and we really like this team a lot. We believe in this team at a deep level, and we need to get better from within and play better, quite frankly. We need to have a greater sense of urgency and start to develop a championship identity. I think it's clear we have not been doing that."

Even though Griffin is trying to play it cool, likely in an effort to keep the asking prices from around the league reasonable, he's in a tough spot. It's hard to imagine entering a playoff run with DeAndre Liggins and Kay Felder as the team's only backup point guards, especially given James' public stance.

It's almost just as difficult to make a case for Mack being the cure to the Cavs' woes. He's averaged just 6.3 points and 2.9 assists in 317 career games, mostly in the same reserve role he'd play in Cleveland, and his player efficiency rating this season ranks 56th of 68 qualified point guards.