The Cleveland Cavaliers have hit a groove and as the trade deadline gets closer the team may consider a deal with Dion Waiters to help add some depth in areas and names like Gerald Green, Tayshaun Prince, Corey Brewer, Timofey Mozgov or Kosta Koufos could be potential targets for LeBron James support down the stretch this season.
The Cavaliers have been mentioned in trade talk as a team that is looking for depth up front at the center position, while wing defense is also a concern. According to Marc Stein at ESPN.com and Pro Basketball Talk, the Cavaliers are likely to make at least one "significant" move at the trading deadline and this comes after Mozgov and Brewer have been mentioned as targets this season. The Rockets have been connected to Brewer, while Mozgov is not likely to be traded from Denver since he has a team friendly deal.
Stein reports that the Cavaliers may look at Kosta Koufos as a potential target, as he has not been getting much playing time in Memphis. To get a deal done the Cavs may have to trade Dion Waiters and the report from Stein says that the team would be willing to deal him if they make a move. Koufos is a solid option and while the Cavs picked Waiters fourth overall in the NBA draft, they feel getting depth at center is worth making a move.
Stein wrote on ESPN.com that the Grizzlies may not want to trade Koufos just yet despite the fact that he has not had much playing time this season. Koufos was described by Stein as being an "underrated" defender on the interior, which is exactly what the Cavaliers feel they are lacking this season. That is why the team was interested in Mozgov as well as Prince.
The Grizzlies haven't been using Koufos much, as he is averaging 3.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per game and he is playing behind Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. The Cavaliers have also been looking into Tayshaun Prince and Brewer could also be a target down the line. The team is ranked 23rd in rebounds per game and ninth in points against and while those aren't always the perfect judges of defense, the Cavs still need help up front.
The Cavaliers started off slow this season and now they have really started to get in a groove and they have won eight games in a row. LeBron James is playing at a very high level and he appears to be getting more comfortable with his teammates on both ends of the floor. The Cavaliers are really looking to shore up the defense and while they think someone like Mozgov or Koufos could be solid pickups, they may not want to mess things around when the team is playing so well.
Waiters would be the main option to move in making a deal, but he has turned things around over the past week and that could keep Cleveland from pulling the trigger. Waiters had 26 points in the win against the Nets on Monday and he added 18 points in the game against the Raptors. Waiters could be valuable as a bench option for the Cavs if he keeps this up and James comes in after scoring 35 points against the Raptors as the offense starts to click.
