NBA Trade Deadline Rumors: Cleveland Cavaliers Potential Moves

There are various ways in which a team can build a championship contending roster in the NBA.

Some teams look to build around star players in free agency, while others tend to focus on building their team through the NBA Draft. Then there are those franchises who have done a little bit of both and add that missing piece via a blockbuster trade.

This is exactly what the Cleveland Cavaliers did this past offseason, as trading for All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell seemed to be that missing piece for this roster.

Obviously this trade came at a cost, as Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, rookie Ocahi Agbaji and three unprotected first-round picks left the hands of the Cavaliers, but Cleveland has young, emerging talents that they drafted, a blend of veteran leaders they found in free agency and a superstar in Mitchell that they can build with and around for the foreseeable future.

Cleveland currently finds themselves 29-20 on the season and right ahead of this year’s trade deadline, they are within striking distance of the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Cavaliers are definitely a real threat in the East, but what will their front-office decide to do as the trade deadline inches closer?

“Right now, this is an exciting season for the Cavaliers,” Cavaliers beat writer and reporter Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com stated in a recent episode of The Fast Break Podcast. “They are a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference and there is a lot of excitement around what they can accomplish right now. Internally, this franchise is excited long-term because they have set themselves up for sustainable, long-term success.”

Building a sustainable, long-term and successful roster has been the goal of Koby Altman, the team’s President of Basketball Operations, for quite some time now.

Finally, they have this young core that they have been searching for and it does appear as if success will be sustained by this franchise for years to come, as Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are all under contract through the 2024-25 season.

With the trade deadline right around the corner, the Cavaliers must decide whether or not it is time for them to go “all-in” on competing for a championship right now or let time play out and let this team learn how to become a real title threat over the next few seasons.

Cleveland does not have many draft assets that they can trade right now after acquiring Mitchell, leaving them with Caris LeVert, who is on an expiring contract, Cedi Osman, Dylan Windler and Isaac Okoro as possible assets to play around with in trade talks.

There have been discussions around the league about LeVert being available as the Cavaliers look to add value on the wing, but is it worth tinkering with this roster if you are Cleveland, especially given the success you have found this year?

“Caris LeVert has an expiring contract and can help a team right now, they have Cedi Osman and they also have future second-round picks, but what kind of piece does this really get you if you are Cleveland,” Fedor explained. “Some of the top names being mentioned in trade rumors right now, I think those guys are a little bit out of Cleveland’s price range and if you look at some of the lesser guys, maybe a different move could make sense, but I just really do not know the answer to that right now.

“Yes, there is a glaring need on the wing. Yes, there is interest in improving this spot, but I get the sense that they will be just fine moving forward with this team that they have and seeing how far this team that they have can go.”

Keeping their current roster together definitely seems like the smartest move for the Cavaliers, especially since they will enter the offseason with options.

Kevin Love is on an expiring deal worth $28.9 million, Caris LeVert is on an expiring deal worth nearly $18.8 million and Cleveland does not really need to worry about contract extensions with any of their core guys.

A total of $94.6 million is devoted to Mitchell, Garland, Mobley and Allen for next season, but the Cavs will have some flexibility in terms of moves they can make.

They will most likely look to re-sign Love to a smaller deal and they could even re-sign LeVert to a new contract in order to keep his current salary spot on their roster, opening up the possibility of either a sign-and-trade or even a deal at the next trade deadline.

There truly is no rush for the Cavaliers right now and while they could very much swing a deal involving Caris LeVert or Cedi Osman at this year’s trade deadline, a move like that just really does not make much sense given the success this organization has found and since the trade market does not present many “upgrades” to Cleveland.

Koby Altman and this front-office have done a fantastic job of assembling the right pieces through the years and whether those outside the organization agree with them or not, they know that they are in a championship position for many years to come.