5 Questions the Cleveland Cavaliers Must Answer Before 2017 NBA Trade Deadline
The Cleveland Cavaliers may have more questions surrounding their team than any other defending champion with a firm grip on first place ever has before.
Cleveland (32-14) leads the Eastern Conference by 3.5 games despite dropping six of their last 10 contests. This January slump has led LeBron James to call out both ownership and the front office, despite the Cavs leading the NBA in team salary ($127 million) and orchestrating the biggest trade thus far this season (Kyle Korver).
With James around, times are never boring in Northeast Ohio.
The Feb. 23 trade deadline is just over three weeks away, and if James gets his way, the roster will undergo some upgrades. Cleveland plays nine more games before the deadline and will use that time to sort out the ever-fluctuating rotation and work to develop more of their young players.
Before the Cavaliers pull off any roster-altering moves, though, these questions must be answered.
How Quickly Can Kay Felder Mature?
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Here's the list of true point guards behind Kyrie Irving:
- Kay Felder
Yeah, it's safe to say the floor general position could use some help. To his credit, head coach Tyronn Lue has been using Felder in an ever-increasing role of late. The 21-year-old rookie was inactive or did not play in 17 of Cleveland's first 31 games. Over the past 15, he's sat just twice.
The Cavaliers have to find out what Felder can handle. Big minutes behind Irving? A small rotation spot? More seasoning in the D-League?
If you ask LeBron James, he's not one to sing Felder's praises just yet.
"No disrespect to DeAndre [Liggins] and to Kay, you think we can rely on them to help us win a playoff game right now?" James said via Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. "And it's no disrespect to them. But it's like, it's not fair to them."
Ouch.
James does appear to be right, however.
Felder's most recent playing time came in Sunday's 107-91 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, in which he registered zeroes in points, assists and rebounds in 12 minutes. He had three turnovers, struggling both offensively and defensively to match up with Thunder guard Cameron Payne.
If the 5'9" Felder is having problems against the 6'3" Payne, how's he going to fare against 6'7" Shaun Livingston, the Golden State Warriors reserve point guard in a potential Finals rematch?
Maybe a switch will be flipped over these next nine games, but it seems like Felder isn't cutting it as Irving's backup right now.
Is Tristan Thompson Enough Rim Protection?
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Tristan Thompson has thrived in his first season as a starting center, averaging 7.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks on 56.6 percent shooting from the field in just 29.1 minutes per game.
The 1.3 rejections he's registering are nearly three times more than the next closest teammate (LeBron James with 0.5). The other rotation bigs, Kevin Love (0.3 blocks) and Channing Frye (0.4) provide little on the defensive end.
"He’s the one rim protector that we have," LeBron James said. "We need him to continue to do that. Making guys adjust their shots, blocking shots, cleaning glass. We know he’s going to clean glass, but when he’s active like that blocking shots and things of that nature it helps us a lot."
Is one defensive big man really enough for a championship team? Last season, Timofey Mozgov and Thompson split starting duties throughout the season. At 7'1", Mozgov was a fine rim protector and far better than what Cleveland has now.
"You guys always say in the media the area we need improvement in is rim protection, so I kind of take the challenge and provide that for this team," Thompson told Bleacher Report.
Chris Anderson was supposed to be the Cavaliers' security blanket, but a torn ACL in December ended his season. Since Thompson only plays 60.6 percent of the time, that means defenses can attack the Cavs' interior without fear for nearly half the game.
If Cleveland wants to improve its 15th-ranked defense, adding a defender behind Thompson would be a nice start.
Is Iman Shumpert's Future in Cleveland?
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Iman Shumpert is playing his best basketball since joining the Cavaliers, is a premier defender on the wing and should be entering the prime of his career.
He's also the Cavs' best trade chip if they decide to shake up the roster.
At 26, Shumpert is attractive to both rebuilding and contending teams. The three years and $30 million remaining on his contract are extremely affordable in today's NBA salary climate.
Teams have already called on Shumpert, especially early in the season when he flirted with the top three-point shooters in the league. Per ESPN's Zach Lowe, the Minnesota Timberwolves were one of several teams interested at the time. Now shooting 41.4 percent from deep, Shumpert is turning into a strong three-and-D NBA wing.
"He's a big part of the defensive strategy that we put on the floor every night," LeBron James said earlier this season. "His ability to shoot the ball right now and also attack the rim, his athleticism helps us out a lot."
Here's the problem: Cleveland doesn't want to part with Shumpert, especially with J.R. Smith recovering from thumb surgery. But what other options do they have? With so many "untouchables" on the roster, he may be the odd man out in any blockbuster deal.
The Cavaliers need to decide whether to add Shumpert to this untouchable list or prepare for a possible title run without him.
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Who's Hitting the Buyout Market?
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Also known as "second Christmas," buyout season is where the Cavs may actually make more noise this year.
Unable to trade a first-round pick until 2021, Cleveland may find suitable trade partners hard to come by. Instead, some veteran players on sinking teams could be let go in hopes of kick-starting a rebuild early.
Two years ago, the Cavs picked up Kendrick Perkins after he was traded to the Utah Jazz and waived shortly after. Perkins became a popular figure in the Cavaliers locker room and served as their enforcer during the postseason.
Now, all eyes in Cleveland should shift toward Dallas.
The Mavericks are 17-30 but remain just 4.5 games out of the playoffs. A rebuild may not be the plan just yet, but that shouldn't stop the Cavs from monitoring point guard Deron Williams and center Andrew Bogut.
Tom Withers of the Associated Press claims the Cavaliers "will make moves" before the deadline and also brought up Bogut's name. The former Golden State Warriors center is averaging 3.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.0 block in 22.6 minutes and knows his time in Dallas may be limited.
"I don't know what direction they're going to go," Bogut said, via Eddie Sefko of DallasNews.com. "Obviously our record is not [great]. Whether they have a full rebuild this summer or we scrape into that eighth spot maybe, and they bring a lot of guys back, I don't know. If they put an offer on the table in the offseason, I'll listen."
Williams would solve Cleveland's backup point guard woes as well. The 32-year-old is putting up 13.5 points and 7.1 rebounds in 30.1 minutes a night.
If the Cavs strike out while the trade deadline passes, there may be a backup plan in place.
Can They Beat Golden State in a 7-Game Series?
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Let's be honest. This is really the only question that matters.
Barring injury, the Cavs and Warriors will likely meet in June for the third straight year. These two powerhouses have split the past two Finals while also splitting their pair of regular-season meetings. Over their past 10 combined games going back to 2015, each franchise is 5-5 against the other.
The pendulum between Golden State and Cleveland continues to swing. After dropping the 2015 Finals, the Cavs fired David Blatt (who was 30-11) last January, then traded for Channing Frye. Two weeks after Cleveland defeated the Warriors for the title, Kevin Durant moved to the Bay Area. The Cavaliers countered with the trade for Kyle Korver and don't appear to be done just yet.
Despite still carrying the torch as defending champs, it's clear the Cavaliers won't be the favorites if these teams meet in a third Finals. The Warriors are 41-7, have four All-Stars and blew Cleveland out in their last meeting 126-91 on Jan. 16.
In this game of high-stakes chess, it's the Cavs' move.
As currently constructed, Cleveland would need a healthy J.R. Smith to even have a chance at taking four of seven games from Golden State. Any backup point guard or center they sign now may not even earn Finals minutes, as a rotation of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Korver and Richard Jefferson/Frye is likely all Tyronn Lue would utilize anyway.
Can the Cavaliers beat the Warriors with these players? If Lue and David Griffin feel like they can't, nothing else matters.
Greg Swartz is the Cleveland Cavaliers Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @CavsGregBR.
Stats via Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com and are accurate through Jan. 30.
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