The Cleveland Cavaliers may look at a trade with Dion Waiters or Tristan Thompson this season to help add some extra support for LeBron James and the Denver Nuggets with Timofey Mozgov could be a target, as he is an above average defensive presence and could combine with Kevin Love to make a very tough front court for the Cavs.
The Cavaliers have started up their preseason and the news right now is that Ray Allen may or may not sign with the team, as reports had him locked into a deal with the Cavs. LeBron James wants Allen on the team and coming into the season he has high expectations and thinks the team can win now, but he also realizes the Cavs have some areas where they could use to shore things up. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Cavs were interested in trading for Timofey Mozgov this summer and those talks could pick up again later in the season.
The Cavaliers already pulled off the massive trade for Kevin Love after dealing Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett and now they could look at Mozgov as well. Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported that the team was hoping to bring him in to help shore up the front court defense and they felt it would be a good fit since he used to play for head coach David Blatt. The report said that the Cavs package for the Nuggets likely would not be accepted unless a player like Dion Waiters or Tristan Thompson was included and that was one reason why it never went down.
The Cavs and the Nuggets could pick back up on this deal down the line if the team struggles early, but right now they appear fine to sit tight. James is thrilled with what the Cavs have done this offseason, as they have added Mike Miller and James Jones while also trading for Love. James and Love have played together already with Team USA and that will give them a jump on getting used to each other heading into the season.
The Nuggets weren't motivated to trade Mozgov because he is under team control through next year and he is coming off of a career season after averaging 9.4 points and 6.4 rebounds. The team did not want to just give him up for some scrubs and that is why a player like Thompson or Waiters would likely need to be involved. The Cavaliers know that Love has some issues on defense, but he is so good overall rebounding the ball and scoring that they aren't worried too much about that.
The Cavaliers are the clear favorites in the east and overall to win the NBA title and now they have the chance to get off to a fast start for the season. The division has the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers and those teams could also be very good, while the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards remain in the mix. The Cavs are still at the top for now and with James coming back, the team has the chance to make a deep run in the playoffs.