The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without LeBron James for a couple weeks with an injury and as the trade deadline gets closer, names like Jeff Green, Brook Lopez, Brandan Wright, Timofey Mozgov, Gerald Green, Samuel Dalembert and Kosta Koufos could be targets for the team, as they also lost Anderson Varejao to an injury and he will be out for the year.
The Cavaliers have been off to an up and down start this season and now with James and Varejao injured they may look at making a trade or two at the deadline. Marc Stein reported earlier in the season that Cleveland was in the market for a big man to help up front with Kevin Love and with Varejao out for the season, that is likely the area they will target. The team defense overall has not been great and that position is more of a priority for the team than a wing player.
According to ESPN.com, James will be out for at least two weeks after dealing with knee and lower back injuries and that means the Cavaliers will have to deal with life without their best player for a stretch. James had missed two games while getting treatment before being ruled out and this could lead to him missing the most games in any stretch in his career. The team had not won in the three previous games James missed bore winning over the Hornets and the injury likely occurred for James on Christmas Day when he jumped into the stands to get a ball against the Miami Heat.
Dalembert could be an option if the Knicks decide to pull a fire sale, while Mozgov was a target over the summer. The Nuggets may not want to move Mozgov and that could lead to the Cavs looking to other players. Brian Windhorst writes that Koufos, Mozgov and Brook Lopez could be potential options, but Lopez is likely out because of his salary despite the Nets shopping the star. The team scores less with James off the court and their field goal percentage decreases when he is not in the lineup.
The Cavaliers are just 19-14 this season and in the middle of the pack in the eastern conference and now they will have to survive without James for a little while. The team is second in the central division to the Chicago Bulls and they come into this weekend after a win against the Hornets on Friday night. The team plays against the Mavericks on Sunday night and heading into next week they open Monday with the lowly Philadelphia 76ers. The Cavs defense also falls off considerably with James out of the lineup, as the team has averaged 102 points allowed when he is not playing.
The Cavaliers come into the week ranked 16th in scoring and 12th in assists per game this season, while they are ranked 14th in points against. The team is allowing 99 points per game and they are 23rd in the league in rebounds per game. Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving will now have even more pressure on them with James out and that could actually benefit the team by the time he returns. James is not an easy player to play with at times and he is still adjusting to things with head coach David Blatt.
