The Cleveland Cavaliers may continue to look at trade deals at the deadline, as the team wants some support behind Kyrie Irving and names like Jose Calderon, Norris Cole, Jeremy Lin, Tyler Ennis or Michael Carter-Williams could be potential targets to join LeBron James as the Cavs try and make an NBA title run.
The Cavaliers have been playing very well as of late and as the trading deadline gets closer the team could look at trades to get a backup for Kyrie Irving. According to Brian Windhorst at ESPN.com, the Cavaliers are interested in adding some extra offensive options and a backup point guard for Kyrie Irving and that could make Cole a target. James previously played with Cole in Miami and praised him highly during his time with the team. Cole was the primary backup for Mario Chalmers and he has connections to the Cleveland area from his time at Cleveland State.
Cole is reportedly on the trade market along with Jose Calderon and Michael Carter-Williams, but the latter two may cost too much for the Cavs. According to Cleveland.com, the Pistons are interested in a deal with Cole, as the team just lost Brandon Jennings for the season. The Heat could afford to give up Cole, as they have Chalmers and Shabazz Napier and that could get the Cavs involved in a deal if they want to pick up Cole.
Lance Stephenson likely will cost too much as well and the Cavaliers don't really need a player at his position after picking up Iman Shumpert and JR Smith. The Knicks have also been shopping Jose Calderon, but they likely will want a decent draft pick for him and that could keep the Cavs from making a deal. Adding Shumpert, Smith and Timofey Mozgov has already made an impact for the Cavaliers and moving forward they could continue making moves.
The Cavaliers have rebounded after a slump earlier in the month and that coincided with LeBron James being out for two weeks with an injury. The team has only lost once since James came back and they have now have won seven in a row as they head into a tough matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Cavs finish the month with games against the Blazers, Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves and they will matchup with the Sixers at home to start February.
James has been playing very well during this streak and the Cavaliers offense has been very consistent compared to earlier in the season. The team has scored at least 100 points in each game during this streak and they have held opponents to less than 100 in each of the past five games. The Cavaliers defense has improved since the team added Timofey Mozgov and that has filtered out through the rest of the team and now they are averaging 99 points allowed per game. The team is ranked 12th in points per game and they are getting back Iman Shumpert from a shoulder injury and that should help with their wing depth.