Trade-a-Palooza 2016

We figured we can be just as good at this as the pros, so we decided to look at some of the Cavs trades floating in the new media ether, and added a few of our own. First, here’s a quick rundown of what the Cavs have to work with: some Ramen noodles and a couple bottles of wine with the labels ripped off.

2018 first round pick, 2016 second rounder, two 2019 second rounders, and a 2020 second rounder, plus the rights to Cedi Osman. Cleveland also has a $10.5 million dollar Haywood exception, an $845k Joe Harris exception, and a $2.85 million Mike Miller exception. Those exceptions cannot be combined with any other salary or other exceptions.

Because we love to play “what if,” we challenged our writers to come up with trades that are plausible and fit into the NBA’s rules…. No Steph Curry for Anderson Varejao trades. No one was untouchable, though I don’t think any of us dared to fake trade the King. But the ones touched by the trade machine were surprising, and it led to some spirited internal discussions. We also linked to some rumored deals. So give us your grades, what you like best, what you think is garbage, and what you think will happen in the next 24 hours. Happy palooza-ing.

Rumored Trades:

Kevin Love for Carmelo Anthony

Kyrie Irving for Chris Paul

Anderson Varejao and draft picks for Channing Frye

Kevin Love (to the Celtics) for Dino Gallinari and Will Barton, with David Lee (to Nuggets) and draft picks (to Cavs and Nuggets) (aka, the Bill Simmons trade)

David Wood:

Kyle Korver and Kent Bazemore for Iman Shumpert

The Cavs are reportedly interested in Kyle Korver. Korver would give the Cavs another elite 3-point shooter to spread the floor. He’s shooting 38.6% from deep this season after shooting above 45% the previous three years. The Cavs would be hoping he rounds back into form as the season moves forward. Korver is 6-7, and actually a decent scheme defender. If the Cavs acquire him, I can only imagine the pain and suffering they could cause opponents by running a small ball lineup of James, Love, Smith, Irving, and Korver. Teams couldn’t position any weak side defenders near the paint, since LeBron and Irving would just drive in and throw a cross court pass to an open shooter.

Korver is 35 and only has one more season left on his deal, so Atlanta would probably have to throw in Kent Bazemore/his bird rights to entice the Cavs. Iman Shumpert is on a four year deal worth $40 million. Bazemore has developed a lot as a defender this season, and could be a decent back up at the 3-spot. Given Atlanta’s history with letting their small forwards walk they probably wouldn’t fret over losing Bazemore. I doubt the want to pay him this summer.

Trevor Ariza, Patrick Beverly, and KJ McDaniels for Kyrie Irving and Mo Williams

The Rockets don’t care about chemistry,  and it’s also clear they’re worried about having to overpay Dwight Howard in the off-season. They like having star players though. This trade satisfies the Rockets’ star lust by landing them Kyrie Irving under contract. While Kyrie isn’t an ideal running mate for James Harden, he can still shoot the 3-ball better than any one on the Rockets, which would open up the paint for Harden. Defensively, the Rockets get much worse from this trade (even though they haven’t been that good this season), but they would have the fire power to just out score teams. This trade would finally get the Cavs a legitimate back up for LeBron in Trevor Ariza, Delly 2.0 in Patrick Beverly, and someone with decent upside in McDaniels.

This exchange doesn’t land the Cavs any one too lauded, but it would help them to play how they’ve been most successful this year. The Cavs’ best lineup thus far has been James, Love, Delly, TT, and Smith. They’re +21.9/48. Cleveland is just better when they don’t have three ball dominant guys on the floor at a time. Beverly defends, makes passes he’s given, doesn’t demand the ball, and hits his open shots just like Delly. Delly is a +6 per game this season, right behind LeBron, Love, and Kyrie. He has also been decent when he has run the second unit, so it wouldn’t be an issue if Beverly took his minutes with Love and LeBron.

Robert Attenweiler:

Anderson Varejao for Cory Brewer

While it would pain each and every Cavaliers fan, player and organization member to part with Andy, it’s clear that head coach Tyronn Lue doesn’t see the Brazilian big man as being a key component to the team’s championship goals. The problem is that if Varejao can’t crack the rotation in Cleveland where he is beloved and enjoys some of the better on-court chemistry with LeBron James of any player in the league, can he really offer enough for another team to give the Cavs back anything of value in a trade? Looking just at on-court performance, you’d say no. But a team like the Houston Rockets, currently leading the league in toxic personalities, might be looking for a different kind of asset. Imagine Cavs GM David Griffin convincing his counterpart with the Rockets, Daryl Morey, to view “being a good teammate and solid locker room guy” as the next untapped measurable analytic. In Varejao, the Rockets would get an unselfish, likable professional, in the hopes that Varejao’s bright demeanor can rub off on some of the Rockets’ more prickly parts and keep Morey from having to blow the whole team up. In return, Cleveland gets another defensive-minded swingman who has chemistry with Kevin Love from their Minnesota days and is more capable of busting out the occasional big scoring game than the Cavs’ current D-first wing, Iman Shumpert.

Mike Schreiner:

Iman Shumpert (to the Kings) and Timofey Mozgov (to the Hawks) for Kost Koufos, Ben McClemore, and Thabo Sefalosha

These two trades could help the Cavaliers both now and in the future. The first trade would be for the Cavaliers to send Iman Shumpert and a 2016 second-round pick to the Sacramento Kings for Kosta Koufos. Koufos would fill Mozgov’s role as the team’s rim protector, and he’s two-and-a-half years younger than Timo. He’s also signed for two more seasons after this one, plus a player option for the 2018-2019 season that will never cost more than $9 million in any season. Considering that Mozgov could still very well command a contract that pays eight figures annually despite his struggles this season, the cost certainty of Koufos’ deal  should appeal to Dan Gilbert. At 23 years old, McLemore also gives the Cavaliers some youth, athleticism, and outside shooting. It’s been reported that McLemore, a Rich Paul client, wants out of Sacramento. Adding him would be a play more for the future than this season, but could very well pay big dividends down the road. Meanwhile Shumpert gives the Kings a much needed wing defender and an upgrade at shooting guard. The fact that Shumpert is under contract for three more seasons after this one would also likely appeal to the Sacramento as the Kings are always in search of stability.

The second trade I would like to see is the Cavaliers trade Mozgov to the Atlanta Hawks for Thabo Sefolosha. For the Cavaliers, Sefolosha gives them a terrific defender to replace Shumpert, and while Sefolosha is six years older, he costs half as much.  Mozgov gives the Hawks a center to fill in for the injured Tiago Splitter, but doesn’t reduce their cap space for this summer.

Nate Smith:

Kyrie Irving (to the Lakers) for C.J. McCollum and Lou Williams, with Julius Randle (to the Blazers) and DeAngelo Russell (to the Blazers)

I know, I know. I pitched this trade on the pod a couple weeks ago and got killed for it. Then Kyrie started heating up and McCollum launched airballs and lost his dribble in the skills challenge. Also, Lou Williams, while a better bench scorer than Mo, is a piss poor defender. I only posted this so no one thought I was trying to hide from it. Crow eaten.

Mo Williams and Timofey Mozgov for Jose Calderon, Kyle O’Quinn, and Lance Thomas

Another year, another Knicks salary dump. Calderon, on paper, isn’t much better than Mo. In fact, he’s rated 401st to Mo’s 442nd in single year RAPM. But remember that Calderon is horribly miscast in the triangle right now, and is still putting up impressive shooting splits of 47%/41%/88%. The Cavs need a third point guard and Mo aint it. Calderon is not going to come down and jack up a 12-footer every time he gets 30 seconds of run like Mo Gotti does. With Delly ailing, and not wanting to stress Kyrie’s minutes, it’s imperative to get another guard. While LeBron has played backup point the last few games admirably, this isn’t a long term solution. To win in the playoffs, especially with his broken jumper, Cleveland must get LeBron off the ball. Calderon gives the Cavs a guy who will actually pass (Calderon’s 4.1 assist per game to just 1.2 turnovers), shoot, rebound, and not sulk (and would look good in the Cavs’ pick-and-roll heavy offense). And yes, he’s just as bad at defense as Mo Williams (he might be worse).

The price for cutting over $10 million off of next year’s salary for the Knicks is throwing in Kyle O’Quinn and Lance Thomas. O’Quinn is a rangy forward who can bang, block some shots, and is posting a solid 17 PER with a -.15 (189th) single year RAPM. For comparison Mozgov’s is -1.64 (372nd) this year. Kyle might be even better with more minutes, and could bang with Dray. Finally, Lance Thomas gives the Cavs a 3D wing on the cheap. He has a .31 RAPM (134th). His shooting splits are 46%/41%/87%: very good. The Cavs might have to throw in a couple second rounders or even a player or two to make this work, but it’s a win/win. Cleveland gets to save about $6.7 million of the Haywood trade exception for use next summer.

(protected) 2018 first round pick for Jerami Grant

You’re thinking WHAT?! Nate must be crazy. But hear me out. The Cavs need a Dray stopper. While I’d like Al-Farouq Aminu and see him as the perfect front court partner for a Love/James big man combo, he’s not getting away from Portland for what the Cavs have. So I give you one of the most interesting defensive Swiss Army knives in the league. Is he good? I don’t know. His .36 dRAPM tells me maybe, but what really stands out are his Rim Protection stats. He’s fifth in the league among power forwards at points saved at the rim. He’s 11th in the league at any position in blocks per game and per 48. He’s 16th in block:foul ratio. Did I mention his .7 steals per game? Yes, he’s a terrible offensive player (-2.27 oRAPM), but most of that is because the Sixers let him take two threes a game, and he only makes 23%. Take that shot out of his game, and he’s respectable. Also, he’s not abysmal from the corners. His 8-50 from the top of the arc is where he’s truly terrible. Plus he rebounds, plus he passes, and he’s trapped on an awful team. He’s only 21, and he has an NBA pedigree. The dude might be a young Josh Smith. Even if he can’t develop a three (and what if he could), he’s already a very good shot blocker who can run the floor and finish on the break. Cavs aren’t getting a better combo forward than that with a late 2018 pick.

Cory Hughey

Anderson Varejao and (top 14 protected) 2018 first round pick for Markieff Morris

Morris could provide the Cavs the middle Earth to their offense (Love) or defense (Thompson) conundrum for a small ball matchups. Morris may be a malcontent, but the story of the NBA has many chapters of troubled players flourishing once they’ve gotten away from a toxic franchise. Analytics are fun, but dismissing Morris holding Draymond Green to 4 of 14 shooting in half-court sets with the “that’s what you are but what am I” small sample size spit ball, doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened thus far, and won’t continue into the future. The Cavs proved that they can slow Curry in last season’s Finals. If they can neutralize Green, they can win the series. Andy is more likely to wake up bald tomorrow than impede Green on defense.  In an ideal world Markieff and his twin brother Marcus could buy one of the mansions along the swank Cedar Point Chaussee to split the difference between Detroit and Cleveland. Unfortunately for them, there’s a 6’6” height restriction on most of the top shelf rides.

I understand the #NeverTradeAndy clubs heartfelt credo, but we’re on a half-century and counting wait. This isn’t the time to toss aside logic, solely for emotional attachments. Andy was the fractured bridge between both incarnations of LeBron era Cavalier teams. If he wants to prolong his injury marred career, Phoenix could be the ideal the spot with its dry air and well regarded training staff. Also, I don’t see dealing him, and doing him wrong. The Cavs paid Andy $42 million over the last five years (that doesn’t include the $19 million he’s being paid this season and next) and he’s played in five games over that span during the month of April.

Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov for Nicolas Batum

Replicating what Miami did right during their LeBron era should be a priority for the Cavs as they go forward. As much star power as the big three flashed in South Beach, they probably don’t win that second title without Shane Battier’s defensive versatility.

When I saw what the Hornets got Batum for in the offseason, I was upset that the Cavs didn’t have a young package that could trump it. Shump would have had to agree to a sign and trade, and probably wouldn’t have been eager to leave a team with championship or bust on the letterhead to go to a rebooting Blazers squad. Batum can realistically guard three positions, could be a secondary ball handler while Kyrie or LeBron takes a breather, and is a decent three point shooter. Much like Battier in his youth, Batum has been miscast as a second or third option, rather than a super role player. You can make the case that he comes up short in the clutch, but I’m not worried about him being the fourth or fifth option in crunch time.

Ben Werth:

Kyrie Irving (to the Kings) for Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder, and Ben McClemore, with DeMarcus Cousins (to the Celtics).

Ya gotta have versatile defensive wings. And lots of them. That is the only realistic chance a team has to beat the Warriors. The trade above gives the Cavs one great, two good and one potentially decent defenders to trot out against the G.S. juggernaut. McLemore and Marcus Smart(already an elite defender) would provide Kyrie fans some “upside” solace. Jettisoning Irving would be tough to stomach, but ridding the team of that defensive liability while adding two solid two-way players in Bradley and Crowder would likely help the championship cause. This season.

Remember, I’m not really thinking about anything past the next two seasons or so. LeBron’s game is likely to go off a frickin cliff. I had always assumed he would improve his jumper and play more off-ball both in and out of the paint. That seems extremely unlikely at this point. So, any move is a win now move basically. Maybe Kyrie figures it out down the road, but let’s be honest. He has shown himself to be a competent defender only a handful of times throughout his career. He is an otherworldly offensive talent, but that just isn’t going to matter against any team that comes out of the West this year. Westbrook and Curry will both just kill him. (I know, Game 1, but are we really going to base our entire defensive optimism on one blocked shot?) Parker, if he is healthy, will kill him. The Cavs can’t win those series with Kyrie playing heavy minutes against those guys.

The Celtics desperately want a big time player and Brad Stevens is just the type of guy to get the most out of Boogie. The Kings still would have an exciting big-name player for their new arena. Sadly, I can’t think of a better player for Vivekball than Uncle Drew.