Cleveland Cavaliers' Biggest Needs Heading into 2016-17 NBA Trade Deadline

Sitting (somewhat) comfortably atop the Eastern Conference with a 36-15 record, the Cleveland Cavaliers have but a few needs in order to repeat as champions.

Starting shooting guard JR Smith remains out until April following thumb surgery, while fellow wing Iman Shumpert is day-to-day with an ankle injury.

This leaves an already thin Cavaliers backcourt calling for reinforcements—preferably those who can defend.

Despite the offense's proficiency at putting up points (111.0 per game, third in the NBA), Cleveland's defense remains in the middle of the pack. Allowing 105.7 points per contest (18th overall), some help on the wing and in the middle could be used to trim back this total.

Unable to trade a first-round draft pick until 2021 and with few assets left to play with, the Cavs will have to get creative to patch up these five areas.

5. Another Shooter?

OK, so maybe the Cavaliers don't need another shooter, but an additional sniper wouldn't hurt, especially with the greatest passing forward in NBA history sharing the court.

"I just tell my teammates if I pass them the ball then they've got a shot," LeBron James said, via Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. "I'm trying to put it on time, on target. All they gotta do is catch and shoot or catch and drive, or catch and lay, catch and dunk. I try to engage their defender, once I see their defender just give me a small stare, then I feel like my offensive player has the ability to get a shot off."

The Cavs are already second in the league with 13.1 three-point makes per game, and their 38.7 percent success rate is tied with the Golden State Warriors right behind the San Antonio Spurs' league-best 40.7 percent mark.

Still, this is a team that could be better.

Richard Jefferson, originally brought on for his outside ability in 2015, is a team-worst 30.2 percent marksman this season. Kyrie Irving is down to 38.5 percent on the year after hovering well above the 40 mark for the first few months.

Adding Kyle Korver was a brilliant move by general manager David Griffin. The 35-year-old is shooting a sizzling 48.2 percent from downtown following the trade, including an 8-of-9 performance against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

As good as Cleveland has been collectively from deep, adding shooters can never be a bad thing next to James.

4. A Hustler

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Every team needs a few tough, scrappy players to complement its stars.

Who on the Cavs fits this bill?

Last season, it was Matthew Dellavedova, who was beloved by teammates for his ability to play in-your-face defense and go all out for loose balls. Before him, it was Anderson Varejao, who was always willing to take a charge or outhustle bigger, stronger opponents to rebounds.

Cleveland has plenty of role players but no real spark plugs off the bench who can fill the void left by Dellavedova and Varejao.

Among NBA.com's four main hustle stats, Cleveland ranks 20th in deflections, 15th in loose balls recovered, 25th in charges drawn and 25th in contested shots. The newest Cavalier, Korver, leads the team with eight total charges taken, though seven of those came during his time in Atlanta.

Of course, hustle stats don't necessarily dictate a team's success, but they do add up over the course of an 82-game season. Given the Cavaliers' current personnel, it's no surprise they rank near the middle or bottom of every major category.

The good news? "Hustlers" aren't hard to find. Cleveland needs to find its next Delly.

3. Wing Defender

Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images

Apparently, there's a team in California with some decent shooters that may cross paths with Cleveland again in June.

With a healthy Smith, Shumpert, James and DeAndre Liggins, the Cavaliers have some defenders on the wing to work with, but more would be welcome.

Cleveland allows opponents to shoot 28.2 three-pointers per game (eighth-highest in the NBA) and holds them to an OK-but-not-great 35.8 percent (14th in the NBA). Even with the quality of wing defenders listed above, this is a slight tick above what their opponents shoot against everyone else from three (35.6 percent).

While this doesn't sound like much, a team's success in today's NBA is dictated by the three-pointer more and more.

The top eight teams with the worst three-point percentage differential are a combined 85 games below .500. The three best teams (Warriors -3.3, Spurs -2.0, Memphis Grizzlies -2.0) are 73 games over.

If the Cavaliers continue to play average defense on the perimeter, the Warriors will be sure to make them pay.

2. Backup Center Behind Tristan Thompson

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Entering the season, 38-year-old Chris "Birdman" Andersen was the Cavs' insurance policy at center after losing both Timofey Mozgov and Sasha Kaun in the offseason.

Now there's nobody.

Since Andersen tore his ACL in December, the Cavs have no defensive presence behind Tristan Thompson, who leads the team with 1.2 blocks per game.

"He's the one rim protector that we have," James said.

Although Thompson is the NBA's most durable player (421 straight games and counting), it's best to have a backup plan to be safe. Cleveland is interested in Andrew Bogut of the Dallas Mavericks should the two sides agree to a buyout before March 1, per Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

The Cavaliers' lowly 4.0 team blocks per game are 27th in the league, and opponents are shooting 60.7 percent within five feet of the basket. When Thompson is off the floor, opposing teams' scoring jumps from 106.1 points per 100 possessions to a whopping 112.3.

Both Kevin Love and Channing Frye can play center for stretches, but they can't guard opposing bigs like Thompson.

1. Veteran Point Guard (Playmaker!)

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Rumor has it James wants one of these.

Irving and James are the only Cavaliers to average more than two assists per game. For comparison, the Warriors have seven players with that average. Cleveland has just three players averaging double digits in assist percentage. The Warriors have eight.

See why James is calling for a playmaker?

With only rookie Kay Felder to relieve Irving, head coach Tyronn Lue has called on Shumpert, Liggins and Jordan McRae to handle the ball. The results haven't been pretty.

The Cavs' ball movement has been horrid this season despite putting up 111.0 points per game. They average 278.7 passes per night, 26th in the NBA. While Golden State musters a league-best 73.9 points off assists every game, Cleveland collects just 56.7.

A pass-first veteran point guard would help the cause.

Whether it be Deron Williams, Jameer Nelson, Jose Calderon or another past-his-prime playmaker, having someone in the second unit to facilitate ball movement would do wonders.

Would someone like Nelson or Calderon crack a playoff or even Finals rotation? Probably not, but they could preserve James (37.6 minutes) and Irving (35.2) until then, which is arguably just as valuable.

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 Wednesday.