5 Trade Targets Cleveland Cavaliers Should Already Be Thinking About
With the majority of NBA free agents signed this past summer now eligible to be traded, swap season in the association is about to heat up.
The Cleveland Cavaliers should again be in the thick of things, especially now they have draft picks with which to part. Even after winning 18 of their previous 19 games, this is a roster still far inferior to that of the Golden State Warriors.
After compiling a trade target list almost a year ago, my top two targets (Kyle Korver and Deron Williams) eventually became Cavs either via trade or buyout free-agent signing. Following that success rate, this year's list will be headlined by Anthony Davis, James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Seriously, though, the Cavs should be on the lookout for athletic, two-way players who can take the floor vs. Golden State. If said players have a personal connection to LeBron James and would make him more likely to stick around, that wouldn't be a bad idea, either.
With the deadline still months away, these five guys should be at the top of Cleveland's wish list.
Patrick Patterson, F/C, Oklahoma City Thunder
1 of 5
2017-2018 Stats Per Game: 3.2 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 38.8/37.7/100.0 shooting, 14.5 minutes, minus-1.3
Age: 28
Contract Info: 3 years, $16.4 million
Patrick Patterson's start in Oklahoma City has been pretty rough, as the team has overall failed to mesh thus far.
Ignoring the ugly numbers for a moment, Patterson is an ideal big to have off a contender's bench. At 6'9" he can play both power forward and center and is athletic enough to switch out to guards on the perimeter, precisely the type of modern-day big needed to face the Warriors.
Patterson can play a pick-and-pop roll on offense with his mid-range game or step out to the arc following a hard screen.
On defense, he can move his feet and cut off opponent's drives to the rim and has enough length to challenge opposing centers at the rim. His switchability is Tristan Thompson-esque, although Patterson carries a far superior offensive game.
One potential roadblock? Patterson made it known on Instagram (h/t Andrew Schlect of Daily Thunder) that he's playing with two bone spurs in his left ankle. By doing so, he took a shot at Cavs guard Derrick Rose, who recently took a leave of absence from the team for the same reason. Patterson is still playing through them.
While the injury is a concern, Patterson's age, contract and upside are too good not to explore a trade.
Jonathon Simmons, SF, Orlando Magic
2 of 5
2017-2018 Stats Per Game: 15.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 48.1/33.3/73.1 shooting, 28.7 minutes, minus-3.8
Age: 28
Contract Info: 3 years, $20 million
Jonathon Simmons has already proved to be one of the best offseason signings and was instrumental in Orlando's 8-4 start to the season.
Things have returned to normal in central Florida, however, and the Magic are just 3-16 since. At 28, Simmons doesn't fit the rebuild and should instead be getting his checks signed by a playoff team.
James actually tried to recruit Simmons to the Cavs this past summer, ultimately falling victim to the Cavs' lack of cap space.
"I even talked to LeBron James over the phone, and he was like, 'We want you in Cleveland.' And I said, 'No, I want to play against you.' I want to be able to play against elite guys and be able to, in a couple of years down the line, be just where they are," Simmons said, via Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. "Plus, it wasn't enough money, anyway. I have a family. I expressed that to him, which he kind of already knew. He said, 'I respect that and I'll see you soon.'"
That 'see you soon' remark from James could come in the form of a trade if Orlando realizes Simmons will likely be in his 30s by the time this team becomes a serious playoff contender in the East once again.
Simmons would bring an athletic wing off Cleveland's bench to play alongside Dwyane Wade and Korver, and give James one of the guys he sought out only months prior.
Tyreke Evans, SG/SF, Memphis Grizzlies
3 of 5
2017-2018 Stats Per Game: 18.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 47.7/42.3/78.4 shooting, 30.1 minutes, minus-2.2
Age: 28
Contract Info: 1 year, $3.3 million
Few things are going right for the 9-21 Grizzlies this season, but Tyreke Evans has been one positive from it.
A bargain free-agent signing this past summer, he has been an electrifying scorer, helped in part by his newfound ability to hit the three ball.
He torched the Cavaliers earlier this season, dropping 31 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds in a Dec. 2 loss. The Cavs tried turning Evans into a shooter, a move that would have previously worked in his career but now only ended up burning them.
"He played great," Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said after the game. "He made some threes. We tried to go under (the screen) and get back on the other side and he was able to make fives threes tonight. You have to pick your poison between him and (Marc) Gasol."
The five three-pointers and 12 assists both stand as season highs for Evans and help demonstrate all the offensive areas in which he can contribute. Be it on nights James requires some extra rest or Wade's shot isn't falling, he can be the offensive spark the team needs to get going.
Evans can't save the Grizzlies' season, but he would be a fine eighth man in Cleveland.
DeMarcus Cousins, C, New Orleans Pelicans
4 of 5
2017-2018 Stats Per Game: 26.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.5 blocks, 47.3/36.1/73.2 shooting, 35.5 minutes, minus-1.0
Age: 27
Contract Info: 1 year, $18 million
Despite being on a team with a limited ceiling, about to hit unrestricted free agency and the fact the Pelicans are 6.3 points per 100 possessions better with him on the bench, DeMarcus Cousins doesn't think he's a candidate to be traded.
"I am confident in my team," he said, per Marc Spears of The Undefeated. "I am starting to understand this business a lot more than I did before. You can kind of tell when things are about to come about. We're a very competitive team. A talented team. I don't think that will be the case at all."
While he doesn't fit the mold of the small-ball, run-and-gun style the Cavs would need in the Finals, his talent alone makes Cousins a viable trade option.
There is perhaps no center more gifted than Cousins, who's still probably a year or two from hitting his prime. He can shoot threes, get to the paint, play with his back to the basket or serve as a facilitator on offense. Defensively, he's one of just three players—Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo being the others—to average at least 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game in the entire NBA.
Cousins may struggle to defend a guy such as Draymond Green in the pick-and-roll, but the smaller Green would wear down having to constantly handle the 6'11", 270-pounder on the other end.
Trading for Cousins would be the ultimate gamble for Cleveland, and a move the Pelicans may not be ready to make just yet.
Paul George, SF, Oklahoma City Thunder
5 of 5
2017-2018 Stats Per Game: 19.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.5 steals, 40.4/40.6/80.2 shooting, 37.2 minutes, plus-0.6
Age: 27
Contract Info: 1 year, $19.5 million
There is perhaps no player to potentially hit the trade block who could help the Cavaliers in a Finals rematch more than Paul George.
At 6'9" and 220 pounds, he would give Cleveland a formidable opponent to match up with Kevin Durant while James could rotate down to Draymond Green. George is a ball-handler, wing and occasional big who can switch defensively on to the league's best offensive threats.
He was extremely close to becoming a Cavalier this summer, with Cleveland proposing a deal that would have sent Kevin Love to the Denver Nuggets and Gary Harris and the No. 13 pick in the 2017 draft to the Indiana Pacers, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Dave McMenamin and Brian Windhorst.
The deal was agreed to but ultimately called off via a text message from Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard.
Now with the Thunder sputtering to a 15-15 start to the season, the Cavs are likely watching every sign of discontent from George as he prepares to enter unrestricted free agency. As Shelburne and Windhorst noted, James has a plan for he and George in Northeast Ohio:
"At this stage of James' career, a roster with two-way players who could help battle his rivals in Golden State would be a huge plus. Other playmakers who can take the burden off James would help as well. That's the reason James and George, the other marquee free agent next summer, have been linked. James aggressively recruited George behind the scenes last summer, selling him on a future together in Cleveland, but the Cavs deal mysteriously fell apart before George was dealt to Oklahoma City."
With just half a season remaining on his contract and his California roots calling, it's unclear how much the Cavs would have to give up for George.
To please James and set themselves up with the best possible roster to face the Warriors, it just might be worth whatever the asking price.
Greg Swartz is the Cleveland Cavaliers lead writer for Bleacher Report. Stats provided by NBA.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
