The Cleveland Cavaliers have two NBA trade exceptions to use this year and players like Jamal Crawford, Nick Young, Chris Andersen, Kevin Martin, Channing Frye, Mario Chalmers, Josh McRoberts, Danny Granger, Omer Asik and OJ Mayo could be targets for the Cavs if the team trades Anderson Varejao after the Brendan Haywood and Mike Miller deals to the Blazers opened them up.
The Cavaliers have been reportedly interested in looking to add another big man to the roster, as the team wants depth behind Timofey Mozgov with Varejao coming off of an injury. The Haywood move opened up a bigger trade exception than Miller, but the team now has two of them to use this year. According to Bleacher Report, Greg Swartz writes that players like Channing Frye, Nick Young, Chris Andersen, Kevin Martin and Andres Bargnani could be potential targets for the Cavaliers to add this season.
Cavs Nation also put together a list and players like OJ Mayo and Omer Asik were mentioned as potential options. The Cavs wanted to strengthen their bench this offseason and they have already done that with the signings they have made, but the team could be looking for more. Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer reports that the Cavaliers could look at moving Varejao this season, as the team already tried to make a move with the center while trying to trade for Joe Johnson with the Nets.
Nick Young and Jamal Crawford have both been shopped this summer and could be potential targets, while Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen have played with LeBron before and Miami has been looking to trade those players. Chalmers is on a $4.3 million deal and has been "aggressively" shopped by the Heat, according to the Miami Herald. Miami has traded Zoran Dragic and Shabazz Napier this summer already and that helped lower the tax bill for the team and now Andersen and Chalmers could be next.
The Cavaliers signed Mo Williams, Richard Jefferson and James Jones back this offseason along with Kevin Love, Matthew Dellavedova and Iman Shumpert, but they may not be done yet. Brian Windhorst at ESPN.com reported earlier that the team was interested in bringing over Sasha Kaun from overseas on a contract. The team has the draft rights to Kaun and they could look at signing him to be a backup for Timofey Mozgov.
The Cavaliers originally looked at Jamal Crawford as an option for the Brendan Haywood trade, but the Clippers and the Cavs never came close to a deal. The Cavs could look at a trade again down the line if some of the other options do not work out for the team. Kevin Martin was shopped in the past by the Wolves and he could be a fit as a shooter off the bench, while Frye and Mayo could be role players that help the B-unit when LeBron James is not on the court. Granger almost played with James in Miami and could be an option if he gets moved.
Young was shopped this summer and he is an option for the Cavs, as he can bring scoring and solid shooting off the bench. Young is signed for a couple more years, so that deal may not be one that the Cavs want to add, but the Lakers are expected to push a deal for Young at some point this season.
Check here for more on the possible trade targets for the Cavaliers for their trade exception this season and more on the Cavs offseason moves.
