The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking at a Brendan Haywood trade after trading Rakeem Christmas and if the team trades him to the Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Blazers or Utah Jazz, the Cavs could look at signing Sasha Kaun to a contract, as he could sign from overseas in Russia for more depth and this comes after the Cavs have signed Richard Jefferson, James Jones, Iman Shumpert, LeBron James, Kevin Love and Mo Williams this offseason.
The Cavaliers have been as active as any team this offseason and they pulled off a trade on Thursday with the Pacers for second round pick Rakeem Christmas. According to Brian Windhorst at ESPN.com, the Cavs made the move with a "larger deal" in mind, as the team is looking to deal Brendan Haywood and his contract. Haywood is signed on a $10.5 million non-guaranteed deal and the team has been looking to package the contract in a trade all summer.
The Cavaliers reportedly had interest from the Lakers, Suns and Clippers earlier in the offseason, but those deals did not work out. The team also engaged with the Nets about Joe Johnson, but that trade did not come close to happening. Windhorst reports that the Cavaliers had hoped to use the contract as a trade chip to get something valuable, but the team has "nearly come to the conclusion" now that a "suitable deal" is not out there.
The team now will try and salvage the trade chip by trying to make a trade exception, as Windhorst reports the team may engage with the 76ers or Blazers about a contract. Windhorst writes that those teams can "absorb" Haywood's contract on the salary cap, while the Utah Jazz also could be in the mix if they make some other moves. The Cavaliers have been trying to free up space on the cap and with the tax, as the team is looking to sign back Tristan Thompson, Matthew Dellavedova and JR Smith this summer.
The Cavs reportedly may look at bringing over Sasha Kaun from overseas on a contract, as the team wants some more depth up front with Thompson, Love and Timofey Mozgov. According to Windhorst, the team holds the draft rights to Kaun, who is playing overseas in Russia. ESPN reports that the Cavaliers are "considering" making a deal with Kaun and that could come after the team trades Haywood if they can find a deal. Windhorst reports that the team has "$1.2 million left of its taxpayer midlevel exception" that they could potentially use on the deal.
Windhorst reported on Thursday night that the Cavaliers trade Christmas to the Pacers in a deal for a second round pick. Windhorst wrote that the Cavaliers needed another "asset" to deal with Haywood and since they did not have a second round pick for a few years, they needed to acquire one and they did that with the Christmas move. Christmas was no lock to even make the roster and since the Cavs are trying to win now, they felt getting the second round pick to trade was the most important outcome.
