The Cleveland Cavaliers were linked to a number of trade rumors prior to firing head coach David Blatt. However, now that the team has strung together some positive performances, the chatter has quieted down. But, how long will that last as the trade deadline is a week away and the Cavaliers continue to eye a few upgrades to the roster in order to battle the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs.
According to Chris Haynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Cavaliers are looking for a shooter. They would ideally like to add someone that can shoot at the win and offer a little more consistency than what the teams has at the moment. As a result, Haynes reports that Cleveland is tossing their name in the ring for Ben McLemore who is being made available by the Sacramento Kings. McLemore has been deemed unavailable for a long time, but with dysfunction within the franchise, the team is looking to deal the young shooter.
McLemore is shooting 37.2 percent from long range this season, but consistency has never been his strong suit. The other issue for the Cavaliers is putting together a trade package that would entice the Kings. Earlier in the season, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that Timofey Mozgov was a trade piece, but the Kings would have no interest in him. JR Smith cannot be traded along with James Jones. That means the Cavaliers would have to entice the Kings on someone like Iman Shumpert or Anderson Varejao. That could be tough to get done.
The Cavaliers are getting linked to big names. Haynes mentions Trevor Ariza from Houston, Kyle Korver in Atlanta and Jared Dudley in Washington are all on the team's radar. There is also a hope that the Brooklyn Nets buyout the contract of Joe Johnson allowing the Cavaliers to swoop in with a minimum contract for the season. All of these can be deemed long shots.
The Cavaliers do not have a lot of trade assets which will make any deals tough to acquire. Mozgov is of no interest to teams and unless Kevin Love becomes available or the team is willing to part ways with Tristan Thompson, acquiring a big name will be tough. The Cavaliers would still like to make upgrades. ESPN's Brian Windhorst threw out smaller names like Tyreke Evans and Omer Asik as options, but neither fit with the team. The Cavaliers could easily not move at the deadline.
