Cavaliers Trade Rumors: Possible Deals with Hornets 'Vaguely' Discussed

As the Cleveland Cavaliers look to get something across the line before Thursday's NBA trade deadline, they have "talked at least vaguely" with the Charlotte Hornets, ESPN.com's Zach Lowe reported Monday.

Lowe floated a trade in which the Cavs would send Isaiah Thomas, the Brooklyn Nets' first-round draft pick and enough salaries to match an incoming package of Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum.

However, Lowe added how the Hornets may not be content to accept anything that doesn't include the Nets pick, whereas the Cavs will be reluctant to surrender that asset for whatever Charlotte can offer.

As good as Walker is, it's hard to see how he and Batum are enough for Cleveland to close the gap on the Golden State Warriors.

Not only that, the Cavs would face a future in which they go into the 2018-19 season without the Nets pick and LeBron James. At that point, Cleveland would have a team built around Walker, Kevin Love and little else in terms of depth, and it would still be on the hook for the nearly $76.7 million owed to Batum.

For Charlotte's, receiving Thomas, a first-round pick and salary filler would be a reversal by team owner Michael Jordan, who went told the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell that the Hornets wouldn't trade Walker unless they received an All-Star in return, with San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard specifically mentioned.

Clearly, the Cavaliers need to change things up after they lost 120-88 to the Houston Rockets during a prime-time game last Saturday. At the same time, it's somewhat foolish to prioritize the short term over the long term when the payoff is unlikely to be all that significant.

The Cavs need to have some sort of contingency plan in the event James leaves in the offseason, and the Nets pick represents their best chance at having any sort of a rebuilding plan in a post-James future.